Dark Sanctuary
by blackandblood
Summary: After an apocalyptic pandemic that has turned innocent people into zombie-like savages, four young survivors must slaughter their way through the vicious hordes before they become infected. They can only hope that help will reach them soon enough.
1. Chapter 1: First Encounters

**Okay, here is the first chapter of my newest story, based on the video game Left 4 Dead. This chapter will be a bit long, and may not resemble the game right away. But that is because it is the first chapter and is the intro. So hold off any complaints until after the second chapter has been posted, where things will look a bit better. I hope you enjoy it and I hope that I did an okay job so far. And for the record, the zombie-type creatures are referred as 'the infected' or 'the commonly infected' and not actually 'zombies cuz they're not dead. That way you don't think I made a typo somewhere.**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**Chapter 1: First Encounters**

His rapid footsteps were thundering as he sprinted as fast as he could. Behind him, he could hear them approaching, trying their best to keep up with him.

He turned around and pointed his Uzi submachine gun at them, his chocolate-colored eyes narrowed. Takuya pulled the trigger and the Uzi went off, shooting a barrage of bullets to the group. Infected beings collapsed to the ground, their blood and organs spraying every which way over the dead lawn.

As Takuya fired at them, he gradually backed up towards a nearby house, careful not to trip over any debris. Before him the large group dwindled down, and he was feeling a bit confident. That was until a Smoker stepped forward, its long, grotesque tongue swaying from side to side out of its mouth. Half of its face was puffed and bloated, and its skin was a sickly pale color.

"Shit!" Takuya stopped ceased firing and ran towards the house as fast as he could.

He managed to yank the door open, get inside, and slam the door shut all within one second. However, the Smoker's tongue had managed its way inside the decrepit building, and it wrapped around Takuya's neck.

"Fuck!" He grabbed a knife from his belt and sliced the disgusting tongue right off, letting fall to the floor.

He heard a high-pitched yelp from outside, along with pounding fists against the door. Thinking quickly, he moved an old desk in front of the door to barricade it, hoping to stave them off long enough to find another way out, undetected.

The banging and scratching grew louder, then one of the boarded up windows was busted open. Takuya opened fire once again, shooting the infected beings as they attempted to climb in through the window. The Smoker whose tongue had been sliced off, managed to jump in. Takuya aimed carefully and shot it squarely in the head, causing its brains to splatter all over the floor. A rush of smoke exploded from its body, but Takuya managed to move away before it could obscure his vision.

He annihilated the remaining zombie-like humans, though he knew that he was not out of the woods just yet.

"Gotta find a way out of here," he muttered, dashing up the stairs.

With every creak and groan inside the building, Takuya's grip on his gun tightened. He reloaded the Uzi as he walked, his eyes scanning in every direction. As he reached the second floor, he could hear the approach of yet another group of the infected. They were gradually making their way to the staircase. He cursed, rapidly making his way down the empty corrider.

On a table in one of the rooms he spotted a first-aid kit, and grabbed it.

"I'll sure as hell need this later," he said to himself.

From downstairs, he heard the door creaking and giving away, as more of the infected were climbing through the destroyed window. The stairs also squeaked from the approaching group.

"Fuck." He walked back towards the top of the stairs, seeing at least ten of the infected swaying halfway up the steps.

He pulled the trigger of his weapon, the bullets piercing through his enemies. Blood and bits of bone littered the floor, and any of them who attempted to ascend the stairs were immediately blown away. Takuya pulled a grenade from his belt, throwing it down towards the window. He ran away from the explosive, turning back towards the corrider he had recently walked through.

There was a loud explosion, and Takuya could vaguely make out a mist of blood in the backround as he continued to sprint down the hallway. He needed to get to higher ground, away from the infected.

Yet another staircase was close by, and Takuya ran up the steps as fast as he could, trying to ignore the thundering of footsteps climbing up to the second floor. At the end of the staircase was nothing but a single door. He yanked it open, then locked it behind him. Although locks were not very reliable, they would still buy him a few extra seconds. There were only four doors in the corrider, and there was no way to the attic from the hallway.

Before he could find the way to the rooftop, hopefully he would be able to come across a few helpful items. He checked the first room, and was fortunate enough to find a box of shotgun shells, as well as ammo for his Uzi on the table. Other than a corpse rotting in the corner of the room, there was nothing else to see.

"Dammit." Takuya could hear the second staircase creaking and knew that they were drawing closer.

The second room was completely empty, so he quickly ran to the third. Two blood-stained steel blades were on a dresser, as well as a simple handgun, and a grenade. He took all four items, and moved on to the final room.

Once inside, he locked that door as well. The windows were boarded up and the room seemed bare of any useful items. He could see a simple closet in one corner, and what appeared to be the latch of an attic on the opposite side.

Just as he was about to make his way to the attic, he heard a scuffling from inside the closet. Takuya's eyes darkened and he pointed his Uzi at the door. Instead of simply shooting at it, he cautiously inched over. The door was slightly ajar, and Takuya knudged it with the toe of his boot, careful to stand back. Just as it creaked open, a powerful shotgun blast from inside the closet caused the door to fly off in a wreckage.

"Fuck!" He jumped away even further, surprised by the powerful blast.

"Go away!" A voice screamed from inside, followed by another ear-shatting shot.

"Wait! Stop shooting!" Takuya commanded.

There was a brief pause. "Who's there?"

"Just don't shoot," Takuya said, showing stepping towards the closet.

He half-expected to be shot at again, but to his relief, the person inside held their fire. Sitting on the floor beneath an empty coat rack was a young woman around his age. She wore blue jeans, a tight white t-shirt, along with a fitted red leather coat. The girl's blond hair was tied back into a ponytail and the front of her clothes were stained with blood. She had jade-green eyes, and a pump-action shotgun was clutched in her hands. Takuya noticed a large bloodstain on the right leg of her jeans.

"Who are you?" The girl asked, suspicious. "Are you another survivor?"

She stared at him intently, unsure on whether or not to trust him right away. The young man had messy chestnut brown hair, and his dark brown eyes were one of the best features of his handsome face. He was wearing a camoflauge pattern outfit, complete with pants and a standard jacket, as well as a plain white t-shirt beneath it. His clothes and dark combat boots were stained and caked with blood. A belt was around his waist, where an array of blades, grenades, two handguns, and extra ammo hung from. He had a first-aid kit slung over his back.

"Yeah, and I take it that you're one, too." He pulled the girl up, letting her use him as a support. "We don't have much time. They're breaking in."

The girl cursed, then jerked her head to the attic latch. "I tried to get in, but it was stuck. And I was too afraid to shoot at it and risk destroying the ladder inside."

"No problem." Takuya took one of his handguns, then gave it a clean shot right at the lock. "Let's go."

He pulled the hatch down, then gave her a boost up. Behind him, the door to the room was groaning in protest as the infected tried to push it open. Takuya jumped up and climbed the ladder, entering the attic. He pulled the hatch back up and secured it with a piece of rope nearby.

Suddenly, a shotgun blast then went off, causing both Takuya and the girl to jump.

"What the hell?" He demanded, looking at the girl.

"It wasn't me!" She exclaimed.

"Who's there?" A young man's voice came from behind an old dresser of the cluttered attic.

Takuya sighed. "Two of the few survivors of this fucking pandemic. Now don't shoot us."

The young man in hiding came out, his weapon similar to the girl's. He wore black dress pants, and a blood-stained white button -up, as well as a red tie. His brown hair somewhat resembled Takuya's, and his hands were shaking. He looked to be around nineteen years old.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Well, I'm Zoe." The blond girl was holding her hand to her leg, wincing. "Dammit...."

Takuya made his way over to her and pulled out one of his first-aid kits. "Sit down. By the way, I'm Takuya, kid."

"I'm Tommy," the boy in the button-up finally said. "Looks like we all had the same idea, huh? Coming to this friggen house and whatnot."

"I'm running low on ammo, so I came here to stave them off until I could find more. And what happened to you?" Takuya asked Zoe, pulling out some guaze.

Zoe flinched as she rolled up her pant leg. "Ambushed."

"Did they bite you?" Takuya asked, wiping the excess blood away.

"No, one of them tackled me and knocked me over. Just as he was about to bite me, I shot his head off. But before I could get up, another one slashed at my leg. Needless to say, he lost his head as well," she told him.

"Can you walk?" Takuya wrapped her wound up, then helped her stand.

The blond nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. How much ammo do you have left anyway?"

"I just loaded up and have one more set for the Uzi," he replied. "And I have one handgun with three bullets left, along with three grenades."

"I have two more reloads I can use," Zoe added. "And one that is already in the shotgun, of course. And I only have two grenades."

Tommy cursed. "I'm almost out of bullets. And I don't have any grenades to add to your collection."

Takuya tossed the box of shotgun shells he had found to Tommy. "Here, use these."

"Thanks," Tommy said, stuffing them into his shotgun.

"Okay, so when those fuckers get in, we're gonna have to make do with what we have," Takuya said.

Tommy's eyes widened. "What do you mean, 'when they get in'?"

"Kid, they're not stupid. They'll find a way into the attic. By the way, is there a way out? Like a window or anything?"

Tommy sighed and shook his head. "No, I already checked. We're stuck in here."

"Fuck." Takuya's eyes narrowed. "Looks like we'll have to go back the way we came then."

"Are you crazy?" Tommy asked. "Go back out there where they can rip us to shreds?"

Takuya shrugged. "Well, that is one option. The other option is to stay here and use the last of our ammo until we run out. Then we're trapped and they have free reign to finish us off that way."

"I'm going with the first option," Zoe said. "At least that way we have a chance."

Tommy thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

The three of them aimed their guns at the hatch, where the infected humans were trying to push it up.

"Hey, what the hell were those things with the long tongues?" Tommy asked. "I've never seen those before."

"Those would be Smokers," Takuya replied. "Nasty pieces of shit you'll want to kill quickly."

Zoe made a disgusted face. "I've dealt with them before. Not pleasant."

"None of them are," Takuya said.

Just then, the hatch was busted open, and the zombie-like beings climbed into the attic. Takuya furiously shot at them, running towards the hatch. Zoe and Tommy followed suit, firing their shotguns.

"We gotta get these guys away from the hatch so we can get down!" Takuya shouted over the roar of the guns. "From there, we have to make our way to the first floor. And pray that we have enough ammo to take them all down. The house is probably swarming with them by now."

"Stand back!" Zoe called out, throwing a grenade down the room beneath the hatch.

She and the others dove away, just as the explosive detonated. High-pitched screeches filled their ears, and there was a firey blast combined with blood and destroyed organs.

Takuya peeked down once the fire had ceased. "Okay, it's clear. I'll go first and then I'll cover you guys if anyone comes into the room."

He jumped down, then aimed at the doorway, where more of the infected stumbled in. Zoe went next, helping him shoot the enemies, while Tommy hopped down into the room last.

Takuya threw a grenade, hoping that it would be enough to clear a path for them. Luckily, it worked in their favor, and another spray of blood covered the walls and ceilings.

"Let's go!" He led them into the corrider, where they were coming up to the first staircase. "We have two staircases to deal with. I'll shoot down the bulk of them as best as I can, and you guys finish off the ones I miss or are too close to us, okay?"

Zoe and Tommy both nodded, not about to argue with him, for he seemed to know what he was doing. They ran down the staircase, shooting at the delerious beings as accurately as they could. The lifeless bodies tumbled down the steps, and Takuya jumped down to finish off the ones that were still squirming. One tried to make a leap for Takuya, but Zoe shot it squarely in the head, blowing it off completely.

"How many are there?" Tommy continued to fire at the infected. "They're everywhere!"

"Don't know!" Takuya replied. "Plenty of them, that's for sure!"

Another one of the infected humans attempted to bite at Takuya, but he jabbed one of his blades under its chin. It went through the flesh, and when the infected man opened his mouth, the blade was piercing upward towards the roof of its mouth. Takuya yanked the knife out, then shot the man in the head.

Five minutes later, they had managed to make it back down to the first floor, where the infected men and women continued to swarm in. Unfortunately, they were also on the last of their ammunition.

"Look out!" Takuya called out, throwing another grenade.

The three of them jumped back as far as they could and ducked. The grenade exploded, killing over a dozen of the infected humans. Severed body parts were strewn across the room, along with more sickening puddles of blood. A Smoker leaped in through the window, its long tongue hanging out.

"Shit! Not another one!" Takuya fired at it, but it jumped out of the way.

Its tongue wrapped itself around Tommy's leg and caused him to crash to the ground. It then began to drag him over.

"Let me go!" Tommy attempted to shoot it, but was being swayed around to much to get a clean shot.

Zoe fired her shotgun at the disfigured human, hitting its shoulder. The Smoker turned its attention on her and released Tommy.

"Oh, fuck!" She shot at it again and it began to run at her.

"Shoot it!" Takuya commanded Tommy as he fired his Uzi.

The younger brunette nodded, scrambling to his feet. The Smoker hurled itself at Zoe, who screamed. She fell back, but was lucky enough to pull the trigger at the right time. Its head exploded in a sickening mess, and it collapsed to the ground. A cloud of smoke blasted from its corpse and covered Zoe, who cried out as it blew into her face.

"You okay?" Takuya rushed over to her and pulled her up.

Zoe nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, but that was the last of my ammo. Damn smoke...."

"Fuck." Takuya took one of his handguns, the only one with with any remaining ammo. "This only has three bullets left, so use them wisely."

"Alright." She took it from him, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. "And between us, we only have two grenades left."

Tommy, who was shooting at more of the infected, suddenly lowered his gun. "I'm out!"

"Dammit! Get behind me!" Takuya yelled to him.

The door was still blocked with too many infected humans for them to make as safe escape. If they were bitten, it would be all over.

"Zoe, give me your grenade," Takuya said.

Zoe obliged, her heart pounding with fear. Takuya threw both of the explosives and the three of them jumped away as far as they could.

"Let's hope it works!" He exclaimed.

The grenades detonated, and the room was completely coated with blood seconds later. Chunks of wood fell from the ceiling and clattered around them. They could feel the heat of the flames, which quickly died out seconds later. When they looked up, the doorway was clear.

"Run for it!" Takuya told them.

Just as they did, more of the infected stumbled in. Takuya fired at them with the last of his ammunition, completely emptying his gun. He swore under his breath, and Zoe used up the last three bullets in the handgun.

"I'm out," she said in despair.

"There's no way out!" Tommy exclaimed. "There are too many!"

Suddenly, the infected humans were gunned down from behind, sending their mutilated limbs flying every which way.

"What the fuck?" Takuya looked surprised.

A young man with black hair entered the house, an Uzi held in his hands. "Need a hand?"

"That would be good right about now!" Tommy said.

"Well, we can't go that way," the young man said, jerking his head outside. "There are too many approaching. I'm low on ammo, so I came here hoping to find some."

"Well, we already cleaned this place out." Takuya glanced around and, to his surprise, saw a door behind them. "What? There's a back door?"

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "Huh, convenient..."

"By the way, I'm Kouji," the black-haired man said.

"Skip the intro!" Takuya told him. "We'll do it later!"

They ran to the door, just as another bloated Smoker entered through the front.

"Run like hell!" Zoe cried out.

With that, they took off through the house, hoping that the back exit would be clear.

**Okay, thats the first chapter. Kinda sucky and confusing, but things will clear up within two chapters or so. Please review if you can ^_^ And yes, there will be a better explanation of the 'special infected people', like the Smoker, in the next few chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Horde

**Okay, before we start things, I would just like to say that the infected people are NOT zombies (yes, I was confused about it at first too). They are NOT the walking dead, for they are alive. They've just been infected with a rabies-like pandemic that causes them to act like zombies and whatnot. Just so you guys aren't confused. And I think you can play this online or buy it for XBox 360. And yes, this story is Takumi. It might just take a few chapters before anything really interesting happens between them. **

**Also a special thanks to kalulu 1080! He not only gave me the idea to write this in the first place, but also answers all of the stupid questions I ask him when I dont know something. So I can't take all the credit of this fic and would like to say 'Thanks, dude! You're the best! And patient with my stupid questions too, lol.'**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or Left 4 Dead**

**Takuya: Isn't this based on the game with that creepy short guy wearing a Captain Crunch costume? Is he in it? Can I shoot him?**

**me: No, that would be Salazar from the Resident Evil 4 game. Good game I must say....and I like to laugh at that guy when he shows up ^_^**

**Takuya: Is this the game with Pyramid Head?**

**me: Uh, no. That would be Silent Hill 2. Now onto the story!**

**Takuya: What about-**

**me: Shut up!**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**Chapter 2: The Horde**

Takuya, Zoe, Kouji, and Tommy ran as fast as they could through the house, hearing the unsteady footsteps slowly following them.

"Just fucking run!" Takuya told them.

The others agreed, and continued to sprint down the hallway. To their relief, they ran into a kitchen, where a back door was hanging slightly off its hinges. They approached it, and Takuya cautiously peered out the door, looking to see if any of the infected were nearby. So far, it the back of it seemed empty.

"It's clear," Takuya told them, jerking his head.

The group exited the house, coming out to an alley. There were a few buildings nearby, all of which were beginning to crumble.

"Damn, I didn't know there were buildings back here," Tommy mused.

"You can't really tell from the front of the house because of the angling," Kouji explained. "Besides, I'm sure you weren't checking out the scenery as you were running for your life."

Takuya glanced back into the house they had just ran out of, and saw none of the infected approaching.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," he began. "There are a few buildings so we'll check them out while we still have time. If we're lucky, we'll find some ammo. If not, then we'll just have to pray that luck is on our side. If you see any helicoptors, try your best to flag them down. They're our only hope of getting out of here. Understand?"

The other three nodded, their faces grim.

"Well, this is going to be fucking fun," Kouji muttered sarcastically.

"And it's only going to get funner," Takuya replied with a smirk.

They walked down the alley a bit, coming up to one of the buildings. There was door, but it was locked.

Takuya looked at the raven-haired man with the bandana. "Kouji, right?"

"Yeah," he replied monotonely.

"Since you're the only one with any ammo left, would you mind going in there first?" Takuya asked. "I'll shine a light in there before you go in though."

Kouji shrugged. "Would be stupid if I didn't go first."

"That's the spirit," Takuya replied with a half-smile.

He took out a flashlight, then gave the door a few hard kicks. On the third kick, it cracked and gave in, hanging off two of its hinges, rather than three. Takuya nudged it open with his foot, carefulling shining his light inside.

Tommy and Zoe nervously glanced around, trying to see if any of the infected had shown up. So far, there were none that they could see. They then followed Takuya and Kouji in the through the doorway. Inside was a room with a simple bed, a dresser, and a desk. Luck was on their side, for there was an array of items scattered over the desk.

"Jackpot," Kouji muttered, slowly aiming his Uzi around the room while Takuya shone the light.

The room was clear and safe for them to enter completely. They hurried over to find three first-aid kits, two handguns, another pump-action shotgun, shotgun shells, Uzi rounds, and bullets for the handguns. There were also a few grenades on the desk, including Molotov cocktails to create walls of fire, and special pipe bombs to attract the infected before they exploded. The four of them gathered the items as quickly as possible, stuffing them into their coat pockets or belts if they were wearing one. Their weapons were reloaded seconds later.

"Okay, let's move on," Takuya said when they were finished. "To the next building."

As they exited the building, they looked around yet again. There was still no sign of the infected, though their anxiety did not ease. They continued on to the next building, as the one they were just in only had that one door. However, in the middle of the alley, they saw a soggy heap just laying there.

"What's that?" Zoe asked, pointing her two pistols at the heap.

Takuya's eyes narrowed and he led them over. Upon further expection, he let out a sigh. It was one of the infected, its carcass nothing more but a pile of organs, bones, and bloated fat.

"It's a Boomer," Takuya told them. "Those big fat fucking things that you might've seen wandering around. Horrible motherfuckers...."

"What's that stuff around its body?" Tommy asked, noticing a green liquid amongst the blood.

Takuya knelt down and put his finger in it, inspecting it.

"Gross, man." Kouji shuddered with disgust.

"It's Boomer bile," Takuya said, rising to his feet. "They spit it out, and it attacts other infected people."

Kouj rolled his eyes. "And you put your finger in it."

"Yeah, they'll be showing up soon enough," he replied, absently wiping his hand on the front of Kouji's jacket.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?!" Kouji jumped back. "Dammit, that shit reeks!"

"Let's check this room right here," Takuya said, ignoring the outburst.

Kouji sulked, following along with the others. "Bastard....."

"Maybe two of us should keep a lookout," Tommy suggested before they entered. "I mean, if that bile attacts them, then we should really be checking out the area."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Zoe mused. "We wouldn't want to be surprised and then trapped in that room...."

Tommy warily looked around. "I'll stay out here."

"Yeah, me too I guess," Kouji added.

Takuya glanced at Zoe. "Looks like you're with me."

Zoe shrugged, taking a flashlight from him. "Doesn't matter."

The two of them entered the pitch black building. They could hear a quiet whimpering sound from the corner of the room, and Takuya held his Uzi tight.

"Someone's in here," Zoe said quietly, shining her flashlight.

They walked into the room, gradually moving closer to the sound.

"I think they're over there," Takuya whispered. "Shine it that way."

The blond did so, and the light ran across a figured in huddled in a corner. She shone it directly at the figure a moment later, revealing it to be one of the infected. However, it was a female with pasty skin and long stringy platinum hair. She was wearing what looked like a dirty cropped white cotton shirt with no sleeves, and white panties.

"Shit! It's a Witch!" Takuya grabbed Zoe and pulled her out of the room just as the Witch jumped up and screeched.

They immediately slammed the door shut, alarming Kouji and Tommy.

"What's going on-"

Before Tommy could finish, an elongated arm burst through the door. The arm swiped at them, the clawlike nails on the hand trying to slash across their flesh.

"Shit!" Tommy fired at it, just as more of the infected began to swarm the area.

"Oh, fuck!" Kouji shot at the approaching group. "This isn't good!"

The Witch continued to attack Tommy through the hole in the door, but Tommy finally managed to shoot her right in the head.

"More are coming!" Takuya said, furiously shooting at the growing group, along with Kouji and Zoe.

Just then, he felt something wrap around his waist and begin to drag him up. He looked up to see a Smoker standing on a ledge above him, its tongue pulling him up towards it.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, trying to get a clear shot at it.

However, Kouji fired and destroyed the Smoker's head, who dropped Takuya a moment later. A puff of smoke blew from its body, and Takuya quickly rose to his feet.

"Thanks," he said to Kouji, taking aim at the infected again.

Kouji nodded in response, his sapphire eyes narrowed. Zoe took a pipe bomb from her coat pocket and hurled it at the group.

"Watch out!" She called to the others.

The grenade bounced towards the infected, setting off an alarm. The infected wandered over to the device, fascinated. Seconds later, it exploded, blowing several of them into pieces.

Tommy glanced over his shoulder and saw bright lights overhead. Upon further speculation, he realized that it was a helicoptor flying over the city.

"Hey!" He called out to it, running out into the main road, into the the open. "We're not infected! Come back!"

However, he was not heard, and the helicoptor flew away.

"Fuck!" Tommy exclaimed, not noticing a figure climbing up the side of a nearby building.

The figure jumped down and screeched, hurtling itself at him. Tommy screamed and fell back, the infected being try to slash at him.

Zoe ran up to the struggling pair and shot at the infected, revealed to be a Hunter by its hooded sweatshirt. The Hunter jumped off Tommy and hissed, while Zoe continued to shoot at it. Tommy joined in, and the bullets sent the Hunter falling back into a parked car. Its corpse fell against the already dented hood, which then set off the car alarm.

"Dammit!" Takuya exclaimed, hurrying over to them with Kouji. "We gotta get out of here! The infected are attracted by alarms and shit."

"Head this way!" Kouji told them, gesturing to another nearby alley.

The four of them sprinted off in that direction, hearing another group of approaching infected people. Just as they arrived at the opening, the zombie-like group ran out of the shadows. Amongst the infected was a big, hulking figure with its muscles bulging out. It was at least ten feet in height, and its eyes were wide with rage. As it ran, it grabbed hold of a car and sent the vehicle flying towards Takuya and the others.

"Shit! It's a Tank!" He exclaimed, referring to the large behemoth.

They ran down the alley, where the car crashed twenty feet away. The infected continued to rush at them, the Tank knocking several of them out of its way as it ran. Tommy then noticed a long metal ladder leading up to a fire escape that was two stories up. There was no building attached to the fire escape, but a wreckage that used to be one. However, there was another building within jumping distance from the escape.

"Quick! There's a ladder!" He called out. "We should get to that rooftop!"

"Okay, Kouji and I will hold them off!" Takuya said. "You and Zoe go first!"

He fired his Uzi at the group, taking special aim at the Tank. The Tank angrily howled, slamming even more of the zombie-like humans out of its way. Zoe quickly climbed the tall ladder, reaching a fire escape. Instead of jumping to the roof right away, she stayed there to get a better aim of the infected group.

"Tommy! Go!" She called out, helping Takuya and Kouji take down the Tank.

The boy climbed up, reaching the fire escape. He then leapt upward, landing on the nearby rooftop.

"Go, Kouji!" Takuya yelled.

Kouji shot the Tank again, then rushed up the ladder, past Zoe. The blond was still standing there helping Takuya shoot the Tank down. He safely reached the rooftop, then shot at the group with Tommy.

The Tank tried to swipe its heavy arm at Takuya, who ducked away.

"Takuya!" Zoe called out. "Go! I'll cover you!"

The brunette jumped away from the Tank and quickly climbed up the ladder and up to the fire escape. He jumped up and looked down at Zoe, who was shooting the Tank in its head.

"Zoe! Come on!" He shouted.

Zoe turned to face the rooftop, just as the Tank jumped onto the ladder. Its heavy weight shook the ladder and fire escape as it tried to climb up. The metal bent and threatened to collapse and seconds. Zoe was close to losing her balance and almost fell off, dropping her pistols. Luckily, she caught herself and jumped up just as the fire escape began to fall.

"Takuya!" She cried out.

Takuya grabbed onto her wrist, and the blond hung from the side of the building for a minute. He then dragged her up, helping her get onto the roof.

"You okay?" He asked, putting his hand against her back as she regained her breath.

Zoe nodded, her heart pounding. She sat back against an old chimney, exhausted. Takuya sat down beside her, peering over the edge. The Tank was not moving, but he doubted that it was dead. The infected were gathered around at the bottom of the building, clawing at the structure.

He sighed. "We're safe here...for now..."

"I can't believe we made it!" Tommy exclaimed, shocked. "I just can't believe it!"

"Don't get too excited, kid." Kouji lit up a cigarette, blowing the smoke out. "We only made it across the street. Don't throw a party until after we get out of this godforsaken city..."

"Yeah, I guess...." Tommy sank down, his face tired-looking. "How long are we going to stay up here?"

Takuya took his camoflauge jacket off, where it was beginning to stick to his sweaty body. "Until we think of a plan. And I'm in the process of coming up with one. And Kouji, can I have one of those?"

Kouji tossed him a cigarette and a lighter, then looked at Tommy. "Want one?"

Tommy simply shook his head, loosening his red tie.

"What about you?" Kouji asked Zoe.

"No, after that Smoker or whatever exploded in my face, I think I've had enough smoke in my system," she replied.

The raven-haired young man shrugged and put his pack away. Takuya inhaled and gazed over at the ruined city.

"We might as well rest for a little bit. But no more than a half hour if we think of a plan," he said. "Are any of you injured?"

The others shook their heads, and they looked at the destroyed city as well.

"Good," he replied vacantly. "Because at this rate, we'll be needing a bunch of those first-aid kits..."

"That thing that tackled me....what was it?" Tommy asked.

Takuya blew out a puff of smoke. "It was wearing a hoodie, right?"

The younger boy nodded. "Yeah, and it jumped off a building right onto me. I didn't even see it when I was out there."

"That was a Hunter," Takuya explained. "They're agile, sneaky, and can rip you to shreds given the chance. And they all like to wear hoodies for some reason, so right off the bat you know that they're different than the regular infected people."

"Why do they wear them though?" Tommy asked.

"There was probably a sale of hoodies at Wal-Mart and the Hunters were first in line," Kouji quipped, though his face was dour.

"And that bitch inside the building was a Witch," Takuya added. "She's not literally a spell-casting witch or anything, but that's the term for ones like her. Witches are strong and as you found out, have really long, sharp claws that can bust out through doors. They'll kill you in one swipe if they get the chance."

"And that big thing was a Tank, huh?" Zoe asked. "Please tell me that there aren't any more infected people like that."

Takuya sighed. "Sorry, but there are more Tanks, and other ones you haven't seen yet. You'll find out what they are soon enough...."

**Okay that is the end of the chapter. Did you like? I hope so. So now you know what Smokers, Hunters, Witches, Boomers, and Tanks are. You'll be seeing more of those, along with some others. **

**Also, I just published a one-shot parody. So if you need something stupid to laugh about, hopefully this will serve some purpose :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Explanations

**Okay, things are gonna slow down a bit in this chapter just to get a few questions answered. Not all, but enough to make everyone happy I hope. The next chapter will be back to the usual stuff like in the previous two. Trying to stay pretty close to the story-line while adding in some other stuff so that it isn't just a non-stop shootfest that will bore everyone.**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**Chapter 3: Explanations**

"This is fucking great," Kouji muttered, lighting up a second cigarette. "We're stuck on this fucking building surrounded by those nut-cases at the bottom...."

"I think I have a plan, but it's still in the works," Takuya replied. "Give me another few minutes and I should have all of the technicalities worked out."

Zoe sighed, hugging her knees to her chest. "That was a close one back there. But I lost both of my pistols, dammit...."

Takuya shifted, and took two pistols from his belt. "Remember how we found these in that room with all the ammo and shit? Well, these were amongst them, so hang onto them."

"Thanks," the blond said, taking them from him.

"They're already loaded," he told her.

Zoe nodded, absently stuffing them into her coat pockets for the time being. She then wrapped her arms around herself, shuddering slightly. Noticing this, Takuya quickly draped his heavy camoflauge coat over her shoulders.

"No, I can't take this," Zoe objected, about to pull it off.

Takuya stopped her, however. "Just hold onto it for now. I'm sweating my ass off right this second so I don't need it. I'll take it back when we leave, unless of course, you're still cold."

Zoe gave him a grateful smile and wrapped it around herself even tighter.

Tommy looked over the side of the building and grimaced. "You said that there were other infected people that were stronger than the normal ones. What exactly are they?"

"Well, along with the ones you've already encounted, there are three more. They are known as Chargers, Spitters, and Jockeys. And before you ask, they all suck in their own way. But personally, I find Witches and Tanks to be the worst," Takuya said.

Kouji glared at him. "How the fuck do you know all of this stuff, huh? I mean, you seem to know how to fend them off and even know what the hell they're called. What are you, part of the damn government or something?"

Takuya threw him an annoyed glance. "No, I'm not part of the government."

Kouji snorted, taking another puff of his cigarette. "Yeah, as far as we know."

"Think what you want," the brunette said. "But I'm not part of the fucking government. I was on the verge of finishing up boot camp to become a soldier when we were called out to help with the fucking pandemic. It's been two weeks since the first signs of it, and it's spread like a wildfire ever since. My commrades and I were told to help quarantine the area off and lead people to helicoptors for evactuation. But the pandemic has already infected several cities surrounding this one. It's a fucking mess...."

"How did it start?" Tommy asked.

Takuya shrugged. "Don't know. At first, people were only feeling like they had a flu-like sickness. But within a few days, the people infected began to act like zombies. Some died at first from seizures, but most just transformed into these savages that we've leared to love for the past few days. Now look at this fucking wasteland."

"It's unbelievable," Zoe said, looking somewhat sad. "It's like a cruel way of telling us that we're all screwed. The town has been overrun with them for nearly a week."

"Yeah, and I noticed the first signs of the special infected people about five days ago," Takuya told them. "Me and a couple of my friends were looking in this area and came across a Boomer. The thing fucking puked everywhere and before we knew it, a horde of those fuckers came running out. My two friends, Wesley and Seiko, helped me shoot the group down. We lasted for another two days, hiding in abandoned buildings and shit so we could sleep. But....a Witch was hidden in one of the rooms we were hiding in. I killed her...but not before she tore my friends to pieces...."

Zoe looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," he told her. "We knew what we were in for before we came here...."

"Were any more of your commrades sent here?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, but I haven't seen any of them alive. I saw a few of their corpses, and had to kill five of them who had been infected." He sighed. "And I've been on my own for the past two days. Glad to know that I'm not the only one left. The infection spreads mainly through bites, but you can still contract it like a flu virus. I wouldn't be surprised if we all became infected in a matter of hours...."

"I tried to leave the area when they were evacutating, but the helicoptor was full," Tommy told them. "I didn't get a chance to catch another one because I had to get out of the area immediately. It was swarming with the infected."

"So, why are you here?" Takuya asked Kouji.

Kouji adjusted his blue bandana. "None of your fucking business."

Takuya shrugged, not really caring. "Whatever."

"Now shut up and don't talk to me until you think of a plan," he muttered, turning away. "Just because I'm stuck on this rooftop with you, it doesn't mean that I trust you..."

Takuya smirked, but left the raven-haired man alone. However, he didn't see the guilt written all over Kouji's face.

_Two days ago_

_"Kouji, hurry up!"_

_Kouji looked at his twin brother, Kouichi, and quickened his pace. A group of infected people were catching up to them, and they had almost run out of bullets._

_Kouichi opened the door of their apartment and rushed inside. He waited for Kouji to enter, then slammed the door shut._

_"Come on! Let's get upstairs," Kouji said. "The ammo is up there."_

_The two of them ran up the stairs as quickly as they could, hearing the sounds of pounding against the front door. They made it to the second floor, and looked around for their roomates, who were also members in the gang they were in. The apartment itself was quite large, with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a lounging room upstairs. Downstairs there was a living room, one bathroom, a dining room, and a kitchen._

_"Drew! Michio! Arashi!" Kouichi called out. "You guys here?"_

_There was no reply and Kouji cursed quietly. "Where the fuck are they?"_

_"Not sure," Kouichi replied, making his way to his bedroom. "I have some ammo in my room. See if you have any in yours."_

_"Yeah." Kouji hurried to his room and found a small pile of bullets on his cluttered desk._

_He stuffed them into his machine gun, his heart pounding. "Drew! Michio! Arashi! Where the fuck are you?"_

_Kouichi walked into his room a moment later, his face dour. He had already reloaded his own machine gun and had stuffed a handgun into his belt._

_"I found them," he said gravely. "They were all slumped over in Drew's room...The infected already got to them..."_

_Kouji swallowed. "Shit. You mean..."_

_"Yeah, they were ripped to pieces," the older twin said. "So that means there might be some of those fuckers already inside the apartment."_

_"Fuck!" Kouji exclaimed. "Now what?"_

_"Shoot the bastards," Kouichi replied. "We have to get out of here as quickly as possible."_

_Kouji sighed, then followed his brother out of the bedroom. He glanced into Drew's room and felt his stomach churn. Blood, organs, and limbs were splattered throughout the room, and he could vaguely make out Michio's severed head displayed on the bed. It seemed to be staring at him ominously, the eyes glassy and filled with horror. Kouji tore his gaze away, but jumped at the sound of a gunshot. A group of the infected had walked up the stairs and were now standing in the lounge. There was a rail over the side of the lounge, which overlooked the first floor._

_"They're here!" Kouichi shouted, firing at a small group of infected humans. "Shoot 'em!"_

_Kouji complied, helping his brother annihilate the staggering infected beings. Blood and chunks of flesh flew off of the group in a sickening mess, staining the walls, floor, and furniture. Kouichi's face was stern and concentrated, while Kouji's was amused._

_"Come on, you fuckers!" He shouted. "You like that?"_

_"Kouji, look out!"_

_The long-haired twin jerked his head just in time to see a Smoker thrust its tongue at him, knocking him over. Its long tongue began to wrap around his neck, and drag him over. Kouichi aimed at its head and fired, killing it seconds later._

_"Fuck!" Kouji yelled, coughing as an explosion of smoke covered him. "What was that?!"_

_Kouichi pulled his brother up and supported him, using his free arm to continue shooting at the zombie-like group. "I don't know what it was!"_

_"Dammit, I can't fucking see," his brother complained, furiously rubbing his eyes._

_Kouichi swore under his breath, his sapphire eyes narrowed. "Shit, you can't see anything at all?"_

_"Well, barely," Kouji replied. "It's clearing up a bit." _

_While he continued to rub his eyes, the short-haired twin shot one of the infected in the head, causing it to explode in a bloody mass. He suddenly saw a Hunter climbing up the wall from the first floor, ready to leap at Kouji. Before it could pounce, Kouichi brutally shoved his brother away and fired at it._

_"Shit!" Kouji fell to the floor, blinking rapidly to clear his vision._

_The bullet had missed the Hunter and it had jumped. It landed on top of Kouichi, viciously snarling at him. The gun had been knocked out of Kouichi's hands, just out of his reach. Kouichi was not able to grab the handgun from his belt, for the Hunter's leg was blocking it._

_"Kouichi!" Kouji screamed in horror as the Hunter slashed down into Kouichi's chest._

_"Run, K-Kouji!" Kouichi yelled. "Get the fuck out while you still-"_

_He was cut off as the Hunter sank its teeth into his shoulder, and began to scream in pain. Kouji went to shoot the Hunter off, only to be attacked by another that seemed to pop out of nowhere. He was thrown across the room, right into the glass window. Before he knew it, the glass had shattered and he began to fall to the ground outside. Luckily, he landed in a bush to break his fall, but he looked up into the second-story window in dismay. From inside, he could hear his brother's agonized wails, then silence. _

_"Kouichi..." He was vaguely aware of the tears running down his face._

When Kouji snapped back to reality, Takuya and Tommy were conversing. He quickly wiped his damp face, hoping that no one had seen his tears.

"Did your family get out, kid?" Takuya asked.

"No, they were killed three days ag," the younger boy replied solemnly. "My brother goes to school out of the country, so at least he's safe. I haven't been able to get in touch with him since my parents' death."

Takuya gave him a strange look. "Not to be rude or anything, but how old are you anyway?"

"Nineteen, but I'm almost twenty," Tommy said.

"Nineteen, huh? So, you must be in school too, then," Takuya speculated.

Tommy shook his head. "Actually, I graduated high school when I was fifteen. Went to college and graduated that on my nineteenth birthday. I was able to get a pretty good job as a junior system analyst. But...I was on the verge of quitting..."

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "Why? Sounds like a really good job to me. And if you graduated at such a young age, then I'm sure that you're intelligent enough to do your job sufficiently."

"Well, that's the thing....whenever I did something, my colleagues would push me around and take all of the credit. Probably because I was the youngest one there and I'm a bit of a pushover... One of my co-workers was the owner of the company's son, and told me that he could make my life a living hell. So I always just stood there in the backround and did everything, then let him take the credit and get on daddy's good graces. Little prick....," he muttered angrily. "As I said, I wanted to quit, but then the outbreak started so quitting wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind anymore."

"Damn, that's rough," Takuya said, shaking his head. "I would've kicked that guy's ass."

Tommy simply shrugged. "Well, he ended up getting maimed by a group of the infected, so if I survive this, I won't have to worry about him anymore. Did your family get away at least?"

"Luckily, they're out of the country on vacation. My parents were worried sick about me last time I checked in with them, but that was a few days ago. As long as they're away from this shit, that's all I care about," he told them. "Obviously, they wanted to fly out and come get me, but weren't allowed to. They originally were supposed to return six days ago. I also have a younger brother, but he's with them so he's safe as well."

Kouji looked at him suspiciously. "Even though you're a soldier or whatever, you still seem to know a lot about weapons and shit. You know more than the average soldier by the looks of it."

Takuya sighed. "My grandfather was in Vietnam and taught me most of the shit I know today. He died about two years ago, but by then I had learned to master almost every single type of gun out there, and knew about types of grenades and explosives. So if you want to keep bitching about how I know shit or how I'm in the fucking government, go right ahead. At this point, I don't care. I just want us to get the fuck out of here in one piece."

"How old are you?" Kouji asked after a moment.

"Twenty-three fucking years old," the brunette replied. "And don't even complain and call me a kid. You look about the same age as me."

"Yeah, I am." Kouji tossed his cigarette butt off the building, then glanced at Zoe. "What about you, Blondie? How did you end up in this situation?"

Zoe looked up, somewhat annoyed to be called by that nickname. However, before she could answer, Takuya jumped up.

"Shit!" He threw himself on top of Zoe, ducking them both out of the way of a Hunter.

The Hunter barely missed them and landed on a ledge, ready to pouce again. Just as it was about to, Kouji fired his machine gun and shot it squarely in the face. The Hunter froze in its tracks, its hood soaking with blood. A moment later, it went limp and toppled over the side of the building, where it proceeded to crash to the pavement amongst the other infected.

Takuya breathed a sigh of relief, heaving himself from Zoe. "That was fucking close...."

"What the fuck just happened? I couldn't see anything," she said, sitting back up.

"Hunter was about to pounce at you, I jumped on you so that it wouldn't, and Kouji blew its head off," he told her nonchalantly.

Tommy gripped his gun tightly, looking around the nearby buildings. "Well, maybe we should get out of here.... What do you guys think?"

"I think you're right," Zoe agreed, pulling her twin pistols out. "Takuya, is your plan ready yet?"

"Yeah, good enough at least. I think we should get to the hospital because I've seen helicoptors fly over them. So personally, I think that would be our best bet," he told them.

Kouji raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding me, right? To the fucking hospital? How do you propose that we do that?"

"Very fucking carefully, that's how," Takuya said icily. "I know this city well enough to know some short-cuts, so just go with me on this. Unless of course, you have a better idea."

The young man with the bandana stared at him for a moment, then sighed and picked up his gun. "You better not get us killed...."

**Okay, that completes the third chapter. If you were bored, don't worry cuz the next chapter will be more exciting. Please review, and let me know what you thought. More of their pasts will be revealed in future chapters so don't worry, you wont be hanging forever, just a couple of years :p**


	4. Chapter 4: The Apartments

**Okay, I decided that, for the first time, my chapters will have titles to help me keep track. In Left 4 Dead, there are four campaigns, with five parts each. Each part will have a chapter named what they were in the game. Any other chapters that I have included for other affects, such as backround stories and details not relating to the other chapters, will just be given a made-up title by me. I figured that this way it would cause less confusion and people have a better idea of what's going on and where we are in the story. If I'm gonna do this Left 4 Dead fic, then I'm gonna do it right, dammit! So there will be roughly 25 chapters altogether. Here is part one of the first campaign, 'No Mercy'. Enjoy! Also, the Spitter, the Charger, and the Jockey are from the second game, in case you weren't sure what they were. There will also be another special infected I haven't mentioned, but you may know already know what it is if you've looked into the game before.**

**And to HornDogg: Wow, I am so pleased to know that you feel that way about me. This could easily be arranged, and since you don't mind if I crack a few jokes, I'll call a few of my friends to join us for an orgy. They would just love to have a piece of you for themselves. You can fuck them, and then they can fuck you. Oh, and I forgot to the mention that they are all guys, so you'll have a blast ^_^ We'll all just have a big sexfest, then drink and pass out, or you can just have sex with them while I go out to buy some alcohol for the after party. Be cautious though, my friends like to get a bit rough when they're drunk. You'll want to make sure you keep around a big tube of Preparation H nearby, for you'll probably have some pretty monster-sized hemorrhoids by the end of the night. And I'm sure you don't have a tiny cock seeing how you felt the need to point that out to me. So I'll take your word for it and give you the benefit of the doubt. See ya later and I'll have the guys meet you tomorrow night. Bring your best attire and your horniness cuz you're on your way to a big night of fun. Bye! ;)**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**_Campaign 1: No Mercy- Part 1_**

**Chapter 4: The Apartments**

"So, how the hell are we supposed to get to the hospital?" Kouji asked, looking over the side of the building.

"Well, obviously I don't know how things will go, so we're just going to wing it," Takuya replied, taking his coat from Zoe.

Kouji groaned. "Great. Just fucking great...."

"But Takuya, how are we supposed to get back down?" Zoe asked. "That Tank knocked over the fire escape, and there's a swarm of the infected at the bottom anyway."

"See that building right next to us?" He asked. "Not only is it from jumping distance of this one, but there's a door on the roof that leads back down into the building. So we jump across, go downstairs, and kill whatever we see."

Tommy thought for a moment, then gave them a brief smile. "Yeah, and there aren't so many of the infected crowded around in front of it for that matter."

"Even better," Takuya said. "I'll go first."

The brunette began to run as fast as could, keeping a tight grip on his weapon. He leapt over the edge of the building, then easily landed on the next.

"Come on!" He called to the others. "It's not that bad of a jump!"

"I hate jumping," Kouji muttered, before he too, began to run.

He jumped over to the next rooftop, landing almost as easily as Takuya had.

"Who's next?" Takuya asked. "Decide quickly, 'cause we gotta go!"

"I'll go," Zoe replied, quickly sprinting to the ledge of the building.

She leapt over just as the others had, then waited for Tommy to follow suit. Once they were all on the building, Takuya pushed the door open.

"Well, let's go," he said, entering the building and descending the steps.

Zoe, Kouji, and Tommy followed him, their weapons shaking slightly in their hands. The four of them made their way down the steps, revealing the building to be an apartment complex. They cautiously made their way into a cluttered kitchen, which had dark crimson smears all over the walls. It was quiet, but no less threatening.

"Don't let your guard down," Takuya whispered. "They could be hiding any-"

Before he could finish, a man in tattered, bloodstained clothing jumped forward. His eyes were wild, and his open mouth was caked with dried blood, the teeth ready to sink into them.

"Shit!" Takuya shot the man right through his eye, then watched as the corpse fell to the ground.

Almost immediately, a horde of the infected ran into the room, and they charged at Takuya and the others, who began to fire their guns frantically.

"I hate these bitches!" Kouji yelled, shooting one of the zombie-like humans through the head.

The infected fell to the floor, chunks of flesh flying in every direction. Blood splattered over them, and soon, they had finished off the infected group.

Takuya led them into the next room, which seemed to be clear of all infected. However, there were no windows in the room to escape through, so they decided to move on.

"Good, a first-aid kit," Kouji said, grabbing it off of a nearby table before he followed them.

The four of them rushed down another set of steps, noticing a lumbering figure in the corner as they reached the bottom.

"What's that?" Tommy asked, squinting through the dimly-lit room.

Takuya raised his gun and pointed at it. "That, my friend, would be a Boomer."

The Boomer stepped out of the shadows, his bloated body swaying. He wore grey sweatpants, and a faded t-shirt that was stretched beyond its limits. The shirt stopped just above the Boomer's fat stomach, which was covered with large, boil-like growths. His face was puffy and also adorned with boils, and his mouth seemed to be filling up with a liquid.

"Fuck!" Takuya fired his machine gun at the special infected, his face disgusted. "Don't let him spit on you!"

The others jumped back just as green bile shot out of the Boomer's mouth, all over the floor. The Boomer was quickly gunned down, and his lifeless body crumped to the floor amongst the green mess.

"Don't know if I already told you, but its bile and vomit will attract other infected," Takuya explained.

"And you wiped it on my coat earlier?!" Kouji asked, enraged.

Takuya merely shrugged, leading them down another set of stairs. This one was longer, and only a few of the infected attempted to venture up towards them. They were shot dead before they could get very far, their bullet-filled bodies tumbling back down. After a minute or so, Takuya and the others reached the bottom of the staircase and came up to a doorway. To their relief, the door led outside, out of the building.

"Okay, let's go," Takuya told them. "If things begin to get overwhelming, head to that building right there."

"Takuya! What's that?!" Zoe asked him, staring at a figure slowly approaching them.

The figure was a female infected human, only much more grotesque looking than the average ones. She had a long, extended neck, and her wide mouth was eroded to rotted and burnt away flesh. Her stomach was bloated, and her large, sagging breasts were covered with a beige sports bra. She also wore tan capri pants, and a pink thong could be seen sticking out over the sides.

"Dammit, it's a Spitter," Takuya said, his eyes narrowing.

"So, that's a Spitter, huh?" Kouji's mouth twisted with disgust. "You think she's single?"

A projectile of stomach acid shot from the Spitter's mouth, landing only a few feet away from them.

"I don't know," Takuya replied, firing his machine gun at her. "But either way, she's out of your league."

"Ha ha, you're so funny," Kouji said sarcastically.

Zoe cringed as the Spitter collapsed to the ground, acid leaking from her mouth. "Why do all of these infected people like to spit?"

"Nah, just those and the Boomers," Takuya quipped. "If that makes you feel any better."

"Uh, not really," she said dryly.

Tommy's eyes widened and he pointed in the distance. "Shit, look!"

A large horde of the infected came rushing over, followed by a Tank, possibly the same one from earlier.

"Fuck! This way!" Takuya shouted, heading towards the building he had mentioned.

They ran inside, quickly locking the door. Zoe was about to barricade it with a nearby shelving unit, when Takuya grabbed her arm.

"Nope, we gotta go," he told her, dragging her with him. "Tanks don't use doors...."

"Good to know," she quipped.

"We're just gonna head to the back of this building to cut through. Not going upstairs to the apartments, but we could always check the rooms to see if they have anything valuable.

"Hey, you were right," Tommy said. "There's some shit in this room right here."

They followed Tommy into the room he had entered, finding a display of items strewn throughout it. There were two Molotov cocktail grenades, three bottles of pills, shotgun shells, and two boxes of ammunition for machine guns.

"Let's grab this shit and get the fuck outta here," Kouji grumbled, stuffing some of the ammo into his pockets.

They gathered up the items, then headed out of the room. There was a single door at the end of the corrider, which led them back outside. By now, the sun had set completely and the darkness of the night had set in. However, the light of the moon shone enough to give them a pretty clear view of their surroundings.

"Okay, I don't see any of those bitches out here," Kouji speculated. "Or that Tank or whatever it is..."

"Yeah, but they could sneak up on us," Takuya warned, leading them out towards an alley.

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" Kouji demanded.

Takuya sighed. "I don't know yet. Just shut up and go with me-"

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!"

Takuya turned around to see a long tongue wrapped around Tommy's neck. The younger boy was being strangled by a Smoker, who had been hiding behind a large trash bin. It attempted to drag him away, only to be shot at repeatedly by the others.

"Let go of him, you fuck!" Takuya shouted.

Puffs of smoke erupted from the special infected's body, all the while blood seeped down its tan jacket and jeans. Its tongue finally ceased its hold around Tommy's neck and slid off. The Smoker crumpled onto the ground, more smoke emitting from its corpse.

"Th-thanks," Tommy stuttered, holding his sore neck. "I hate those f-fucking things!"

Takuya helped him stand up, scanning his eyes in every direction.

"Shit, look out!" He exclaimed, pointing to a nearby building.

Two Hunters were scampering down the sides, ready to pounce on the small group. One of them landed in front of Kouji, its hood concealing half of its face. It snarled at him, and Kouji could feel his blood boil with rage as he remembered Kouichi's gruesome demise.

"You son of a bitch!" He screamed, firing at it.

It leapt away, springing at Takuya. While the brunette side-stepped his hooded attacker, Zoe and Tommy were trying their best to stave off the second Hunter. Unlike the one attacking Takuya, this one had a red sweatshirt, rather than blue.

"Fuck! Will the damn thing stay still?!" Zoe cried out in frustration, shooting her dual pistols at the agile being.

The Hunter was easily dodging their bullets, taunting them as it landed on a street light.

"Come on," Tommy muttered, cursing himself as he continued to miss his target.

Meanwhile, Takuya and Kouji were shooting at the Hunter with the blue hoodie.

"Dammit, hold still!" Kouji said with annoyance.

The Hunter continued to evade their bullets, until it finally charged at them. It jumped onto Kouji and hissed, trying to slash down at him. However, before it could, Takuya shot it through the back of the head several times. Blood poured from its face and dripped onto Kouji. After a moment, it collapsed onto the raven-haired young man.

"Ugh! Get if off!" Kouji complained, trying to push the deadweight off.

Takuya yanked the dead infected human off of Kouji, who scrambled to his feet.

"That thing didn't have any fucking eyes!" He said breathelessly. "How the hell did it know where to go?!"

"Very keen hearing," Takuya told him, then turned his attention to the Hunter in red. "Come on, let's help them."

The remaining Hunter was pouncing in almost every direction, dodging Zoe and Tommy's bullets. It landed on the corner of one of the buildings, where it proceeded to climb up.

"Where's it going?" Zoe wondered, still trying to shoot it.

Takuya and Kouji ran over, looking up at the Hunter. It then ran directly across the building, leaping over the windows in its path.

"Stupid thing..." Takuya muttered, attempting to shoot it. "It's faster than the others....."

"Why?" Kouji demanded, also trying to get a clear shot. "We killed a few of them earlier and they weren't this annoying."

Takuya sighed. "Kouji, if I had all the answers, we would probably be out of here by now...."

The Hunter pistoned itself from the building, diving straight at the group. They moved out of its range, their bullets whizzing past the special infected human.

"Okay, this thing is really getting on my nerves!" Tommy said, his lips tightening in frustration.

The Hunter suddenly flew forward and hurtled at Zoe. The blond fell back with a scream, her pistols clattering away on the ground. The hooded figure repeatedly lashed out at her, shredding the front of her red jacket. The others frantically shot at the Hunter, and it soon became covered with bloodied bullet wounds. It shuddered, then fell to the ground beside Zoe.

"You okay?" Takuya asked, dropping to his knees beside her.

"Y-yeah," she stammered, glancing down at her torn jacket. "I can't get infected by getting scratched, can I?"

Takuya shook his head. "As far as I know, you can't."

Other than the tears and a few bleeding scratches on her chest, she was unharmed for the most part. Takuya helped her sit up, while Kouji gathered her pistols.

"Not to rush you or anything, but we better get going," Kouji said.

Zoe nodded, then allowed Takuya to help her stand up. She took her pistols from Kouji, quickly reloading them. The others reloaded their guns as well, their eyes scanning over the area once again. Although everything was calm and quiet at the moment, they wouldn't take any chances.

"Hey, that building right there leads to the subway," Tommy said, pointing out a tall brick building. "You think we should cut through down there?"

"Sounds like a plan," Takuya replied. "If we go through the subway, we may be able to go get to the hospital underground. It may be easier than walking through the streets."

Kouji groaned. "I hate subways...but I hate those bitch zombies even more...."

"What don't you hate?" Takuya asked dryly. "And they're not zombies. They're still alive."

"I know, you jackass," Kouji shot back. "And to answer your question...I don't hate bandanas..."

Takuya rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the info. Now let's get our asses in that building before another Hunter come along."

"Or anything else for that matter," Zoe grumbled, following the brunette.

The four of them headed into the crumbling building, casting one last glance outside to make sure everything was clear. They then walked inside and gently closed the door.

"Okay, if we head to the end of the hallway, we should come up to the door that leads down to the subway," Takuya told them.

They walked down the corrider of the building, listening for any signs of movement. To their left was a wooden table with a bottle of pills and a first-aid kit. Tommy pocketed the pills and slung the kit over his back, loosening his red tie a moment later.

"These will be useful pretty soon," he mumbled. "I already feel a headache coming on...."

The group walked a bit further and came up to a dark room. After flashing their flashlights through it, the room was deemed empty. Takuya quickly ran inside to retrieve three pipe bombs.

"Okay, let's hurry," he whispered. "I think I can hear a group of them coming."

They hurried down to the end of the corrider, which led to a doorway on the right. The door led right back outside, much to their confusion.

"What the fuck?!" Kouji growled, glaring at Takuya. "I thought you said that the building led to the subway station! Idiot!"

"The station is right there, asshole!" Takuya shot back, gesturing to a set of stairs to their right.

There was a large sign over the opening, where it swayed slightly in the breeze. The sign simply read 'Shibuya Subway Station'.

Kouji threw Takuya an annoyed look, his face heating up slightly. "Still...you said it was in that building."

"Oh, shut up and let's go already," the soldier griped, making his way to the eerie steps.

Zoe and Tommy followed suit, as well as a disgruntled Kouji.

"I hate stairs...." he grumbled.

**And that ends part one of the first campaign. Yeah, Kouji hates everything, haha. Well, everything but bandanas I should say. Hope you liked this chapter and wasn't too bored. And I hoped that I did a good enough job getting the details right. Please review and let me know what you thought of it. **

**Also, here is a sneak preview of Kyosuke Nanbu's latest story, coming out sometime in the future ^_^ Enjoy**

Takuya Kanbara woke up, a yawn emitting from him. He glanced over to see that his girlfriend, Zoe, was still asleep. He crept out of bed as quietly as he could, trying his best not to disturb her. While he dressed, he glanced over to see what time it was. The clock read 9:00 in the morning, relatively early for him. Once dressed, he snuck out of the room and gently closed the bedroom door. He headed towards another room and was about to go through the doorway when he suddenly jumped. He came face to face with Kouji and sighed, brushing past him. Kouji had been staying with them for some time now, due to the fact that he had lost his job. Yawning, Takuya sat down on the couch, turning the TV on. However, since he had immediately switched his PlayStation 3 on, he was not aware of the crucial breaking news on nearly every channel. He and Kouji played a video game for some time, still not completely awake. After about an hour, there was a knock on the door. Takuya glanced at the clock, wondering who it could be so early in the morning. He slowly made his way to the door, while Kouji switched the channel on the television. At the door stood J.P, Tommy, who was also J.P.'s younger brother, Saomi, Kouji's girlfriend, and Ryuu, who was Saomi's brother and one of Takuya's best friend. Just as Takuya let them in, he heard Kouji nervously call to them from the other room.

"Uh, guys? You may want to see this on the TV...."

**That is all you'll be getting until it is published, or unless Kyosuke gives out more previews. So until then, you'll just have to wait! Mwahahahaha!**

**Takuya: What are you laughing about?**

**me: Quiet! I am basking in the moment!**

**Takuya: Uh, okay.....**


	5. Chapter 5: The Subway

**Well, here is chapter 5 of this story. Please read it and uh...yeah....enjoy... Also, anyone in the game who hasn't been infected are known as 'survivors'. So I may be referring to the Takuya, Zoe, Kouji, and Tommy as the survivors instead of constantly calling them the a group or whatever.**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**_Campaign 1: No Mercy- Part 2_**

**Chapter 5: The Subway **

The four of them headed down the steps, their footsteps echoing off the walls.

"Fuck, this entrance is blocked," Takuya complained once they had reached the bottom. "It's been barricaded by piles of junk. Shit...."

"Wait, there's a door right here," Zoe said, nodding to their right. "We may be able to get in through there."

Kouji kicked the door open before Takuya could respond, walking right into the room.

"Okay, let's see what we got in here...." Kouji looked around the room, which consisted of a desk, a chair, and a few shelves. "I see a few first-aid kits..."

Takuya, Tommy, and Zoe entered the room behind him, taking the time to look around for useful items. However, on one of the walls there was a large, barricaded off room. A few of the infected could be seen lurking inside, as the wooden door had pieces missing. The barricaded room almost seemed as though it were a cage or prison cell.

"Oh, good. We can get through the station through there," Takuya speculated, shooting the hissing infected humans. "Now let's get this fucking bar off the door and go in."

With Kouji's help, he managed to pull the heavy pole off the door and set it aside. He then knudged the door open and aimed his machine gun towards the corner of the room. There were a few boxes and shelving units, revealing the room to be some type of storage closet. There were three more infected ambling around near the boxes, and they were shot dead seconds later.

"Damn, the room caved in," Tommy speculated.

The supply room's wall and floor had caved in horribly, and the lower floor could be seen beneath it. The four of them immediately fired their weapons down at the infected on the lower floor, blood spraying in every direction. Once the small group at the bottom had been annihilated, Takuya looked at the others.

"Only way to go is down," he said, before jumping down.

The brunette landed easily enough, then looked up at the others.

"Hurry, a group of them are coming and I don't know if I can hold them all off!" He called up.

Kouji dropped down to the lower floor, a plume of dust billowing up. Zoe and Tommy followed suit, just as a horde of the infected came rushing over.

"I hate these bitches," Kouji muttered for the twentieth time as he shot at them.

"You and me both," Takuya added, firing at the vicious horde.

After a minute or so, that particular crowd had been completely wiped out, and their remains were splattered everywhere. Takuya and the others ran through the room, where it began to turn into a parking garage-looking area. There were pillars and beams holding the ceiling up, which was also beginning to crumble and crack. Only a few of the infected were lurking around in the area, hissing and growling amongst themselves.

"Well, at least there aren't many here," Tommy said with a sigh of relief.

Zoe shot at the infected humans, grimacing at the sickening mess. "Yeah, but for how long?"

Once the infected were dead, Takuya nodded to the side. "Let's go this way."

He led them down a dimly-lit corrider, which came to a dead end. Two infected people were standing at the end of it, and they were shot dead immediately.

"Great, now what?" Kouji rudely asked Takuya. "It's a dead end."

"We can drop down to next floor," he replied.

Tommy looked down the hole, where more of the infected were wandering around. "Guess you were right, Zoe. There are plenty of those bastards down here..."

"Yeah, but I wish that I hadn't been right," the blond said with anxiety.

"Would anyone like to do the honors of going first?" Takuya asked. "Or do you want me to?"

Kouji shoved past him. "I'll go. Don't want you to think that you're the only one who knows what they're doing...."

The raven-haired man dropped down and quickly shot at the oncoming horde. He was joined by the other three, who helped him take down the swarm.

The infected rushed over one after another, snarling and ready to claw at the survivors. Blood and spittle shot out of their mouths as they hissed, their eyes wild with insanity. Many of them wore tattered clothing, while others wore bloodstained, yet intact clothes.

"This just keeps getting better and better," Kouji griped, reloading his gun.

"Yeah, but we'll get through this horde," Tommy said as he shot one in the head.

Kouji threw him an annoyed look. "What makes you so damn optimistic? We're probably gonna die and you know it."

Tommy's face fell a bit, but shrugged and continued to fire at the attacking group.

"Well, we know who the emo of the group is," Takuya said with a laugh.

"I'm not emo, you asshole! I'm just being realistic," Kouji shot back.

Takuya shot an infected woman through the eye and watched as the bullet exited through the back of her head. "No, I'm realistic. You're just emo and depressed."

"Well, I have every right to be," Kouji replied harshly. "After what I've been through, I'm lucky that I haven't just killed myself."

The soldier glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Kouji shook his head, however. "Just drop it. I don't feel like talking about it."

Takuya was about to say something, but thought better of it. Instead, he continued to fire at the infected humans. Zoe quickly reloaded her pistols, glancing at Takuya.

"How do you know where to go?" She asked him.

"I don't," he replied. "I'm just planning this as I go."

Kouji sneered. "Then why didn't we just go straight to the hospital? Why are we going all around the cow's ass to get there?"

"Because it's too risky to go there directly though the town," Takuya said.

"More risky than getting ripped apart in a fucking subway station?" Kouji smirked as the number of the infected began to dwindle.

Takuya groaned. "Dude, I'm not in the fucking mood. If you don't like it, either come up with another plan, or go off on your own. Either way, I don't give a shit. Just quit whining."

Kouji scowled at him, but remained silent. Two minutes and several bullets later, the horde had been obliverated.

"Great, we're running out of ammo," Tommy said miserably.

"Well, we'll just have to find some more," Takuya told him.

They moved to the end of the room and ran down another corrider. When they reached the end, they had two options awaiting them.

"Okay, there are two staircases," Zoe mused. "One to the right leading upstairs, or the one straight ahead that leads down. What do you think we should do?"

Just then, one of the infected clumsily ran down the steps at their right, his arms waving around frantically. Takuya quickly shot and killed the man, watching as the corpse tumbled down the steps.

"Uh, hang on," Takuya said, rushing up the stairs.

"Where are you going, you idiot?!" Kouji demanded. "You're going to get killed!"

However, Takuya rushed back down the steps a moment later. "We can't go up. The door is blocked and we don't have time to move everything out the way. So I think our best bet is going downstairs."

The others nodded in understanding, then they hurried down the staircase. A few of the infected attempted to climb the steps, only to be shot down soon after. At the bottom, there were three escalators leading down to yet another floor.

"How many fucking floors are there?" Kouji wondered aloud. "This is ridiculous....."

"Yeah, but this might be the last," Tommy replied.

The survivors ran down the escalators, only to be attacked by a large swarm of the infected.

"Okay, we need to find ammo! And fast!" Takuya shouted over the roar of the guns.

As he and the other guys shot at the infected, Zoe noticed a booth. She ran over to it, shooting anyone who attempted to attack her.

"Zoe, what are you doing?!" Takuya rushed over to her. "Are you crazy?!"

"Am I?" She asked, before smashing the glass of the booth.

Takuya's frown quickly turned into a smile. "Ah, now I get it. Good work."

Inside the booth were several rounds of ammunition, as well as pain pills. While Takuya fended off the approaching horde, Zoe reached inside to retrieve the items.

"Here you go," she said, before thrusting a gun into his hands.

"What the hell?" Takuya looked down, surprised at what she had given him.

In his hands was a fully automatic M12A3 assault rifle, an upgrade from his Uzi. While he inspected the weapon, Zoe concentrated on taking down the Zombie-like humans.

"Hey, study it later," she told him. "Right now, I need some helping killing these guys."

"Oh, right. Sorry." He fired his new weapon at the infected, his Uzi now slung across his back. "Yeah, take that, you bitches!"

Kouji and Tommy joined them, firing away at the ever-growing group. Kouji noticed Takuya's rifle and narrowed his eyes.

"Where'd you get that?" He asked.

"Zoe found it in that booth and gave it to me," Takuya told him.

Kouji snorted. "Well, why'd she give it to you?"

"Because she likes me," the brunette said victoriously. "Don't you, Zoe?"

The blond blushed slightly, then concentrated at the horde instead of answering him.

"See, told you," Takuya said to Kouji with amusement.

"Oh, be quiet!" Zoe exclaimed. "I gave it to you because you probably knew how to use it better than any of us! And you were the closest!"

Takuya smirked and then continued to help take down the infected group. Finally, they reloaded and wandered into another room. In the room, there was a train sitting on the tracks, broken down and destroyed.

"Looks like a Tank fucked up that train," Takuya speculated. "Maybe we should walk through it. It may be safer inside."

"We can give it a try," Tommy said.

The four of them cautiously made their way to the train, entering through the back. Inside, there was a single Molotove cocktail, and nothing more.

"Well, this was a great idea," Kouji said sarcastically.

Takuya gave him a rude gesture, then led them back out. They then went around the train, walking along the train tracks.

"I don't think I'm really crazy about this idea," Tommy said in a nervous tone.

"I don't think any of us are," Zoe replied, her hands shaking slightly.

They came up to another destroyed train, and this time, several of the infected jumped out of the wrecked cars.

"Oh, shit!" Takuya shot at the infected group, grateful that his upgrade made things just a little bit easier.

The other three shot frantically at the horde as well, gasping as another large swarm of them appeared out of nowhere.

"Dammit! When will these fuckers die?!" Kouji shouted, annoyed. "This is friggen unbelievable!"

"You're telling me!" Tommy chimed in.

Zoe's heart sank as she noticed a large, hulking figure. "Uh, guys? I think we found another Tank...."

"Fuck...." Takuya saw the Tank ambling out of the shadows, knocking over some of the infected. "Shoot that thing first!"

The others changed their aim to the Tank's direction, shooting only at a common infected if they became too close.

"If we all shoot it, it'll be easier!" Takuya shouted. "This one doesn't seem as bad as the one that knocked over the fire escape."

"Either way, I hate these godforsaken things!" Kouji announced.

The Tank was gunned down, and it's lifeless body crumpled to the ground. Minutes later, the horde had also been finished off.

"Okay, let's get the fuck outta here," Takuya huffed, his coat sticking to his skin again. "I'm fucking sweating my balls off...."

They walked around one last train car, where there were a few common infected, as well as a Boomer. Before it could spit its disgusting bile, it was shot dead. Bile leaked from its bloated body through its pores, attracting even more of the infected.

"Dammit, these guys suck!" Kouji complained. "I hate Boomers!"

"Just finish them off and head to that staircase!" Takuya told them, firing at the horde.

Zoe glanced at the nearby staircase, then threw a pipe bomb at the group. The bomb beeped and flashed a small light, and the infected crowded around it in fascination. While they were distracted, Takuya led the others to the staircase. They reached it just as the bomb detonated, sending the infected flying backwards in an explosion of fire.

"Okay, let's get our asses up there!" Kouji said, casting a look over his shoulder.

Behind them, another group of infected hurried over to them, their eyes wild and bloodthirsty.

"Hey, there's a room at the top!" Tommy announced. "We need to get in there!"

"Okay, just one last thing." Takuya tossed another pipe bomb over his shoulder.

They arrived at the top and dashed for the safe room Tommy had pointed out. However, there was another group rushing after them and they were quickly making their way to the top.

"Get into the safe room!" Takuya told the others. "I'll hold them off!"

He began to shoot at the oncoming group, when Zoe roughly grabbed his arm. "No, let's go!"

Suddenly, a Tank burst through the zombie-like crowd, swinging its heavy arms at the pair. Takuya and Zoe flew backwards, slamming into a wall.

"Shit!" Kouji shot at the monstrous behemoth, as did Tommy. "You guys okay?"

"...Great...." Takuya gave him a thumbs-up, shakily rising to his feet. "Zoe, you alright?"

"Yeah...." She painfully rose as well, helping the others take down the Tank.

Several bullets later, the stairwell was covered with blood, organs, and dismembered limbs.

"Okay," Tommy said, nodding to the safe room. "Let's go before any more of them show up."

They sprinted into the safe room, locking it behind them. The room consisted of three desks, several surveillence screens, and two first-aid kits. There were also two pipe bombs, a bottle of pills, and a box of assorted ammunition.

"Alright, I think we should take this time to heal ourselves a bit," Takuya said with a sigh, taking hold of one of the kits. "Anyone need help?"

"I can do it my damn self," Kouji muttered, grabbing another one. "Don't need anyone to put a fucking band-aid on me."

Tommy merely took out a roll of guaze. "I just need to wrap up my leg a bit, so I'm all set with help."

Takuya looked at Zoe. "What about you?"

"I'll have to see," she said tiredly.

The blond groaned, pulling off her red jacket. Bloody scratches were on her chest, and a stream of blood was trickling down her right arm. Takuya didn't look much better as he too, removed his coat.

"Come here," Zoe told him, pulling out a cloth.

The brunette sat down in front of her, shrugging nonchalantly. "It's no big deal."

"Don't even start with me," she replied. "Just shut up and give me your shoulder."

Takuya smirked and moved slightly closer to her. He didn't hiss in pain as she rubbed alcohol onto his wound, and instead found himself staring at her. Zoe did not seem to notice, however, and continued to wipe away at his blood-covered arm.

"Does this hurt?" She asked, glancing up at him.

"Not at all," he replied, his chocolate-colored eyes gazing into her emerald ones.

Zoe blushed slightly, then covered his shoulder up with a thick wrapping of gauze. When she finished, Takuya wordlessly began to wipe at Zoe's chest with a cloth dampened with alcohol.

"Hey, what are you doing?" She demanded, becoming even redder.

"Sorry, but since you were mauled at, I just wanted to make sure that it gets cleaned enough so that you don't get infected." He sheepishly handed her the cloth, his face a shade redder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come off as a pervert."

Zoe's expression softed. "No, it's okay I guess. Normally, I would've smacked you across the face. But given the circumstances....you're off the hook...for now...."

"You are a perv!" Kouji exclaimed.

Takuya only ignored him and smiled, then dabbed at Zoe's wounded arm while the girl tended to her bleeding arm. Once everyone was wrapped up, they each took three pain pills, swallowing them dry. Tommy almost choked on the pills and began to cough, only to be gently smacked on his back by Takuya.

"Ugh, I hate swallowing these dry." Tommy grimanced. "They always get stuck in my throat...."

"I hate it, too," Kouji grumbled.

"We know," the other three replied monotonely.

Kouji smirked, then looked at the locked door. From outside, they could hear banging and groaning.

"So....now what?" He asked.

Takuya sighed. "We find another exit. And hope that we can find one before they get in..."

**Alright, that ends another chapter. The next chapter will be kick-ass! Or not :p Anyway, please review and make me happy. Next chapter will be out within a few days hopefully.**

**Also, since each part of the campaigns are so lengthy, I can't detail every last thing. I try not to take the chapters too too long, so I hope you guys don't mind.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Sewer

**Okay, get ready for yet another long-ass chapter ^_^; I'm really fucking tired so there might be a lot of typos. But I'll fix them tomorrow, so you guys can just ignore the typos for now...**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**_Campaign 1: No Mercy- Part 3_**

**Chapter 6: The Sewer **

"Guys?"

Takuya, Zoe, and Kouji looked over at Tommy, who had a large grin on his face.

"Yeah?" Kouji asked, impatient.

"I think I found our ticket out of this room," Tommy said.

Takuya smiled, rising to his feet. "Good, where is it?"

"See that this wall is completely covered by cardboard boxes and stuff?" Tommy asked, making his way to the indicated wall.

"Yeah," the other three replied unanimously.

Without a word, Tommy knocked the piles of boxes away, revealing a barricaded door. The knob had been broken off and there was a metal bar secured directly across it.

"Tommy, you're the best," Zoe said excitedly.

"Yeah, good to know that we don't have to go back out that way," Takuya added, nodding his head to the door they had come in through.

By now, the metal door was badly dented and groaned in protest as the infected try to push their way through.

"Okay, then let's get the fuck outta here before we end up as zombie food," Kouji griped, casting an annoyed glance at Takuya as he did so. "And I'll call those fuckers 'zombies' if I feel like it."

Takuya merely shrugged, moving the metal bar away from the barricaded door. He then kicked it open and cautiously entered the connecting room with the others close behind. The adjoined room appeared to be a type of storage closet, which was filled with several shelving units and cardboard boxes.

"Well, it looks like we have company," Zoe said as she held up her twin pistols.

A small group of the infected were lurking in the shadows, clumsily making their way over to the survivors. They were immediately gunned down almost effortlessly and their bullet-filled corpses crumpled to the floor.

"Okay, now what?" Kouji rudely asked. "There's no way out of here."

Takuya quickly scanned the dark room, flashing his light over the floor and walls. A moment later, he lowered his flashlight and walked over to one of the shelving units. With Tommy's help, he managed to moved the heavy object away from its designated spot.

"What the hell are you doing?" The raven-haired man demanded.

Zoe smiled at the working pair and looked at Kouji. "They found a hole."

"Yup, so now we can jump down into the floor below us," Takuya added proudly. "It's a bit of a drop, so be careful. I'll go first."

The brunette sat at the edge of the hole and swung his legs over, using his arms to carefully brace himself as he lowered himself down. Once most of his body was almost completely through, he let go of the edges and dropped down. A billowing of dust blew up around him and he waved his hand to get it away from his eyes.

"Okay, you guys ready?" He called up.

"Uh...yeah...." the others replied hesitantly.

Tommy went next and carefully copied what Takuya did, trying his best not to lose his grip ahead of time. He shakily dropped down and Takuya grabbed him to steady his landing.

"I'm okay," Tommy said somewhat deleriously. "But I think I have a newfound hatred of heights..."

Zoe followed suit, her heart pounding a mile a minute. "I can do this....I can do this...and hopefully not crack my head open...."

She, like Tommy, also had an unbalanced descent and fell to the lower floor. However, Takuya quickly caught her in his arms, holding her to his chest.

"You okay?" He asked.

Her face slightly red, she nodded and waited for him to set her down. Once he did, she couldn't help but look away from him and stared at her guns like they were the most interesting things in the world.

Takuya looked up at the hole above them. "Your turn, Kouji."

"Yeah, whatever..." Kouji mimicked to the others and lowered himself to the lower floor, landing steadily. "Haha! I did it without any problems. How do you like that?!"

"I'll be sure to give you a gold star later," Takuya replied sarcastically, leading them down towards a door.

The door led outside, to an array of alleys. Under the moonlit night sky, shadows seemed to be lurking in every corner, threatening to reveal themselves to be more than mere shadows.

"What's with all the friggen alleys?" Kouji muttered.

"Better than the open street where we can be seen," Tommy speculated.

They hastily rushed down one of the alleys, shooting at the infected humans who jumped out at them. Men and women ambled over to them, their tattered clothes clinging to their bodies with sweat and blood. Their bodies littered the ground within seconds as they were gunned down, twitching as they succumbed to their wounds.

"In here!" Takuya shouted above the gunfire as they ran. "There's a building right there with an open door. Just go in there for now!"

The survivors sprinted into the into the building, slamming the heavy wooden door shut behind them. They were standing in the kitchen of a restaurant, which was in ruins. Pots and pans were scattered over the floor as well as eating utensils, spilled food, and rotten leftovers.

There were only three common infected in the kitchen, and they were quickly shot dead before they had a chance to attack.

"I think I hear something," Zoe said suddenly, signalling for the others to keep quiet.

A moment later, a Witch stumbled out from behind one of the counters, her white miniscule articles of clothing barely covering her. In one of her long clawed hands was an empty bag of sugar. She used her free hand to lash out at Zoe and the others, who hastily jumped back from the attack.

"Dammit!" Kouji exclaimed, her nails barely missing him.

The Witch threw her head back and wailed, slashing out a second time.

"You still wanna hook up with the Spitter?" Takuya asked Kouji with a laugh. "This bitch seems to be more your type."

"I'll consider it," he replied, shooting at the infected woman.

The Witch screamed louder, her shrieks piercing deep into their ears. She dropped the empty bag and charged at them wildly.

"Shut her up!" Kouji exclaimed.

The Witch's head suddenly exploding, sending brain matter to fly across the kitchen.

Zoe lowered one of her guns and sighed. "Only way to quiet one of these down is to shoot them in the head."

"Good shot," Takuya said with a smirk. "Now let's get the hell outta here. I'd rather not deal with another Witch...."

The four of the headed out of the kitchen, into the seating area. Contrary to the destroyed kitchen, the restaurant dining area was almost completely intact minus a few overturned tables. There were six infected humans stumbling over to them and they were immediately shot to death. A severed hand flew onto the counter, its fingers spazzing slightly.

"Eh...let's go," Tommy said uneasily.

They ran out of the ominous restaurant and made their way outside to the parking lot. There was a large horde of the infected, much to their dismay.

"Eh, dammit," Takuya muttered, aiming his assault rifle at the approaching swarm. "This is gonna be fun...."

Tommy grabbed a pipe bomb from his pocket and hurled it across the parking lot, hoping to steer several of the infected humans away. The flashing light and alarm attracted about half of the horde, giving Tommy and the others a better chance against them. While many of the infected were annihilated by bullets, the bomb went off, killing dozens more. Blood and dismembered limbs flew in every direction, pieces of skin and muscle sticking to the sides of the surrounding buildings.

"Head this way!" Takuya told his allies. "Head to that building over there!"

"Why?" Kouji asked, following him nonetheless. "What would be the point of that?"

Zoe glanced back at the zombie-like humans stumbling after them, shooting at them when they became too close. "Anything is better than being out here in Zombie City!"

"Yeah, I'm with her!" Tommy agreed, shooting a deranged woman in the face.

Takuya led the group into the building, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Now what?" Zoe asked nervously, quickly reloading her guns.

"Uh...head this way," the brunette replied. "Unless of course, someone doesn't like that idea..."

Kouji, knowing that the comment was directed at him, snorted in response. "Whatever. I don't fucking care right now. Let's just hurry the hell up."

"Well, it looks like we can just cut through this building and go back outside," Takuya speculated as they noticed a door at the end of the corrider.

"Hey, hold on a sec," Tommy said, pausing for a moment.

He opened a door that was to his left and quickly entered. Seconds later, he emerged with a first aid-kit, and an auto shotgun.

"Damn, good work," Takuya told him, nodding in approval. "Know how to use that thing?"

Tommy shook his head. "No and now's not the best time to learn. Here, Kouji, you can have it."

Kouji grinned, taking the weapon from the younger boy. "Fucking awesome."

"Okay, let's go," Zoe said, glancing behind her. "I can hear them coming."

The others nodded in agreement and they hurried out of the dimly-lit building, feeling the light breeze as they made their way back outside. In the distance they could see yet another building, only its wall had been completely destroyed.

"Head for that building," Takuya said. "Don't ask me why, but I have a good feeling about it."

Kouji shrugged. "If you say so. But if we get infected, I'm killing you first...."

"I'll keep that in mind," the soldier replied dryly.

As they sprinted to the designated building, another swarm of the infected rushed over to them. Amongst them was yet another Witch, who was screeching and charging at them. She managed to evade their bullets and tackled Zoe to the ground.

"Hey, get off of her!" Takuya shouted, aiming his rifle at the woman's head.

However, before he could fire, Zoe shot the Witch in the face, killing her. She shoved the corpse off and stood back up, brushing herself off.

"You okay?" Takuya asked her.

"Yeah," she replied nonchalantly. "No problem."

Seconds later, they were running towards a ramp. They hurriedly ran to the end of it and grabbed onto a nearby ledge.

"Okay, just climb the fucking ledges and walk across that beam to get inside," Takuya said, heaving himself up.

"We have to do to the second floor?!" Kouji demanded.

"Sorry, but the wall on the first floor was intact and there's no door. On the brightside we're running away from those bastards," he replied.

Kouji snorted. "Brightside my ass..."

The four of them climbed two more ledges, then ran across the metal beam, carefully jumping into the room.

"Now what do we do?" Tommy nervously asked. "The door is completely blocked."

"Go down," Takuya said, jumping down a hole in the floor.

Zoe dropped down after him with a sigh. "So many drops...."

"Get used to it," he told her, though not in a rude manner. "These friggen buildings are collapsing at a pretty quick rate."

Once Kouji and Tommy had descended to the lower floor, the four of them ran down the closest corrider. They made their way to the end of it, coming out into a large room. Waiting inside was a horde of the infected, as well as a wobbly Boomer.

"Ugh, not another one," Kouji complained.

He and the others began to fire at the oncoming group, backing away slowly as they did so. Blood misted before them, slightly clouding their vision. The Boomer took this opporutunity to to spit a mouthful of bile at them.

"Ah, shit!" Takuya jumped away as the disgusting liquid sprayed over his coat. "Fucking asshole!"

"Ew!" Zoe looked down at her red jacket, a look of repulsion on her face. "That's just gross...."

The horde rushed over to them at a quicker pace, attracted to the sickening bile. They were shot dead before they became too close, however.

"Okay, now shoot that thing!" Tommy said, gesturing to the Boomer.

The bloated human looked as though he was getting ready to spit out yet another mouthful. Before he could, his head was blown completely off, leaving behind a gushing stump of a neck.

"Alright, let's get the fuck outta here," Takuya told them as they ran over to a staircase.

The four of them descended the steps, constantly checking over their shoulders. At the bottom of the landing, they came to a dark storage room. The room was adorned with several shelving units, all of which were being crammed with cardboard boxes. There were also about a half dozen of the infected, who came lumbering over.

"Dammit, can't we go anywhere without these bastards popping out every thirty seconds?!" Kouji angrily began to fire his shotgun.

"Not anytime soon," Takuya replied, shooting the infected as well.

With the help of Tommy and Zoe, the small group of zombie-like humans were annihilated. With that deed done, the survivors made their way down a dark hallway. The corrider walls were covered with graffiti, blood amongst the spraypaint. As they cautiously walked down the hallway, guns tight in their hands, the area became more unsightly. The floor was almost covered in dirt, and a sickening odor filled the air. Small puddles were at every corner, and steam burst through pipes near the ceiling, giving off a hot, nauseating affect.

"This is fucking gross," Kouji muttered.

"What did you expect when we're coming up to a sewer? For it to smell like roses?" Takuya shot back, somewhat annoyed by the constant complaints.

Zoe sighed, making a disgusted face. "No, but it would be nice...."

They slowly descended several flights of stairs, each filthier than the last. As they made their way to the bottom of the last staircase, a group of the infected attempted to rush up at them. Unlike the infected above ground, they were much more dirty. Their clothes were stained with sewage water and dark stains.

"I don't even wanna know what the hell is on their clothes," Kouji mused.

Takuya shot at the ambling horde, a crooked smile on his face. "Not even gonna say anything to that...."

Zoe fired her pistols and shot two of them point-blank in the head. Tommy shot the leg off of an infected man, then fired another bullet into this throat. Once that particular swarm had been finished off, the four of them walked into the nearby room connecting to the staircase. As they scanned the area, they discovered that it was a boiler room. To their relief, there were only a few common infected. Unfortunately, there was an adversary in which they did not wish to fight.

"Eh, great," Tommy groaned. "There's a friggen Tank with them."

As if in cue, the hulking behemoth charged at them, a low gutteral snarl escaping from his throat. Evading the Tank's attacks, they shot at him from behind the boilers, weaving in and out between them to avoid him. He was finished off easier than they expected, as did the rest of the infected.

"Okay, I don't wanna stick around." Takuya nodded to an open manhole. "We're going down."

"Into the sewer, right?" Zoe asked.

Takuya smirked. "Yup, so try not to pass out from the lack of clean air."

With that, he jumped down the hole and into the sewer. The others reluctantly followed, shaking their head in disgust.

"Damn, this is nasty," Kouji said.

"Then let's move our asses and get the fuck out as quickly as possible," Takuya replied.

The four of them rushed down the path, trying their best to not choke on the repulsive aroma. They took a left at the end of that path, only to find yet another horde rushing at them.

Takuya grabbed a grenade from his belt and hurled at at the oncoming group. It exploded seconds later, sending blood and chunks of flesh flying in every direction. Just as they began to continue to venture down the path, a Hunter lept forward, tackling Tommy in the process.

"Fuck!" He cried out, on the verge of falling into the stream of sewage beside them.

However, Zoe and Kouji quickly grabbed onto him, while Takuya shot the Hunter through his empty eye socket. The bullet shot out through the back of his head, and he fell into the stream instead.

"Th-thanks," Tommy stuttered, clearly surprised. "Would've sucked if I fell into that."

"Would've sucked for us, too. We would've been stuck traveling with you," Takuya said with a laugh.

The four of them continued to make their way down the path, finally exiting from the tunnel. They came out into an opening, much wider than the path they had been traveling through. To their dismay, there was another horde waiting for them as they walked through. The infected group lunged at them, trying to mash their teeth down into their flesh.

"Shit!" Kouji jumped away, as did the others, shooting the vicious humans as he did so.

They fired their weapons, barely dodging the attacks from the horde. One managed to bite down onto Takuya's arm, though the brunette's jacket was too thick for his teeth to go through. Takuya slammed the butt of his rifle into the man's face, crushing his nose back into his skull. The soldier then shoved the barrel of his gun into the man's mouth, where he proceeded to pull the trigger. The back of the man's head exploded in a sickening mess, blood splattering every which way.

When the swarm had finally been finished off, Zoe noticed something as they reloaded their guns.

"Hey, guys? I think I found our way out," she told them. "There's a ladder that leads up to a manhole. You think It'll come out near the hospital?"

"It's worth a shot," Takuya speculated.

Kouji snorted. "Then let's get the fuck out. This place is making me sick to my stomach...."

The four of them rushed over to the ladder, where Takuya climbed to the top of it. While Zoe held his gun for him, Takuya pulled an extra pistol from his waist and held it in his hand in case of an attack. He then pushed up against the heavy lid of the manhole, grunting as he did. It finally gave away and he slid it to the side of the pavement above him. Quickly peeking his head out, he discovered that they were, in fact, right next door to the hospital.

"Well, you were right, Zoe." Takuya climbed out of manhole. "There's no one around, but hurry up and get out of there."

The others complied and began to ascend the steps. Zoe went first, handing Takuya his rifle as she made her way up. The brunette quickly grabbed her and pulled her up the rest of the way.

"Sorry, but we need to move," he told her. "Not saying that you're slow but-"

"It's okay," she cut him off. "I know."

Kouji and Tommy rushed up after them, squeezing out of the manhole just as yet another horde appeared out of the shadows.

"Fuck! Run!" Takuya shouted.

He and the others sprinted towards the hospital as fast as they could, not taking the time to stick around to finish off the swarm. They rushed through the doors of building, the horde close behind.

"In that room!" Tommy exclaimed. "Hurry!"

As they rushed towards the indicated room, Zoe's eyes darkened and she shot at the infected who had drawn too close to them. She slowed her running pace, taking down the zombie-like humans as she did so.

"Zoe, come on!" Takuya grabbed her arm and and yanked her into the room just as one of the infected leapt at them.

Tommy and Kouji slammed the door shut before it could reach them, causing the infected person to crash into the outside of the door. Takuya and and Zoe had collapsed onto the floor, and the brunette turned to give the blond an angry look.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He demanded, roughly pulling her up. "You could've gotten yourself killed."

"They were catching up," she retorted. "I had to do something."

"We would've made it though," Takuya shot back.

Zoe rolled her eyes in aggravation. "Fine, whatever."

She walked away from him and began to silently rummage through the items on a nearby table, while the guys took this time to barricade the door with a vending machine.

Kouji then broke the machine open, taking a bottle of soda from it. "Hey, after all this shit, I deserve a fucking drink. Too bad it ain't alcohol."

Takuya and Tommy nodded in unision, grabbing one for themselves.

"Want one?" The soldier asked Zoe, still somewhat annoyed.

Zoe didn't turn around, but shook her head instead. "No, thank you."

"Suit yourself," he replied with a shrug, taking a swig of his Coke.

The blond simply sighed, moving her hair out of her face. As she did so, the thin gold chain around her neck broke. Zoe cursed, grabbing the necklace in her hands before shoving it into her jacket pocket. She did not wish to look at it.

**Yeah, sorry for the loooooooooooooong ass chapter. But the next will not only be a bit shorter, but will slow things down a little as well. I thought it was funny how they didn't spend much time in the sewers, but the chapter is still called 'The Sewer'. Oh well, who cares? I know that I don't. In the next chapter you will find out....information! Yay! So please let me know what you think and the next chapter will be out in a few days. **


	7. Chapter 7: Revelations

**Okay, you'll notice that in this chapter that I did not include what campaign it was. The reason for this is because it does not have anything to do with the actual campaign itself, as this chapter will reveal a few more things to veer away from the storyline of the game. But for the next chapter, it will go back to saying what part it is like the previous ones. Yeah, I'm gonna give out some informative information to inform you guys about ^_^**

**Takuya: But if you inform too much, you'll give away too much information.**

**me: Yes, but I won't inform the readers about too much, as I need information in the future to inform them about.**

**Kouji: But if you make it too informative, then you'll still be spoiling the story and you still have about another 25 chapters to go.**

**me: But I said that I wasn't going to make it so informative with all of the information to spoil it all. I don't want to inform them about too much right now.**

**Takuya: Can we stop saying 'inform' and 'informative' and 'bruhaha'?!**

**me: ....When did we say 'bruhaha'?**

**Takuya: Just start the chapter!**

**me: Don't tell me what to do! *hits him over the head* I now present chapter 7. Enjoy!**

**Takuya: Ow, I need one of those bottles of pills....**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**Chapter 7: Revelations**

The room had contained several rounds of ammunition, as well as three grenades. It appeared to be a smaller private guest lounge, for there were a few vending machines against the wall and over a dozen cushioned seats. The door had been locked, and the two windows beside the door appeared to be unbreakable, for the infected had no luck trying to break through the glass. Instead, Kouji had blocked the windows with extra cushions, flipping the infected off as he did so.

"Now we don't have to look at their ugly faces." He glanced at Takuya. "So, how long before we leave?"

"I think we deserve a rest after all this running around," the brunette replied. "So maybe about twenty minutes, unless they begin to somehow get in."

Kouji smirked. "Good, 'cause I'm in dire need of a friggen break."

Along with the machines containing beverages, there were two others containing candy bars and packaged snacks. Those, too, had been busted open.

Takuya relished the taste of the Kit-Kat Bar as he crammed it into his mouth. "Damn, I haven't had one of these in like forever."

Tommy had helped himself to a twin-wrapped package of cupcakes, while Kouji had opted for a few bags of chips.

"Fun-Size my ass," he muttered, obviously dissatisfied by the small size of the bags. "How can anything be 'fun' when it's this friggen small? Hardly anything in it."

"Don't forget, you're also paying for the air that's inside the bag with the chips," Takuya told him with a laugh.

Kouji shrugged, shoveling a handful of them into his mouth. "Nothing's free in life...."

"Nonsense, you didn't pay for these chips," Tommy said jokingly. "We busted the machines open and got these for free."

Takuya glanced at Zoe, who was sitting in one of the chairs. Her gaze was staring vacantly at the floor, and her shoulders were slumped.

"You okay?" He asked, wandering over to her.

She nodded in response, her eyes never leaving the floor.

Takuya hesitated for a moment, then held out package of Pop-Tarts. "Here, you should eat something."

"I'm not hungry," Zoe finally replied.

He groaned, sinking down to the chair next to her. "Look, you're not still mad at me for snapping at you, right? Is that why you're suddenly acting all depressed and emo?"

For the first time, Zoe looked up at him, only not with the expression he had anticipated. Takuya had expected her to glare at him and threaten to slap him across the face for that comment. Instead, her emerald eyes seemed tired and apathetic, and she looked as though she had no strength left in her.

"No, I'm not mad about that," she said.

"Well then, what is it?" He asked.

The blond merely shook her head, then reverted her gaze back to the floor. She did, however, take the Pop-Tarts from him, slowly opening the package. Takuya wordlessly handed her a bottled beverage, which she also accepted.

After a long pause, Takuya finally sighed. "If you want to talk about what's bothering you before we leave, let me know."

Zoe quickly glanced up at him and gave him a half-smile. "Thanks."

Takuya nodded and rose to his feet. He then made his way back over to Tommy and Kouji and began to converse with them.

The girl took a small bite of her snack, not tasting the filling as she ate. Instead, her mind began to venture elsewhere.

_Ten days ago_

_Zoe looked at her parents and smiled gratefully. "Thanks so much for letting me stay here while my pipes are getting fixed."_

_Mr. Orimoto smirked. "Well, we're not gonna make you stay in your flooded apartment for the next few days."_

_"Yeah, you'll need a canoe to get from one room to another," Mrs. Orimoto quipped._

_"Well, I should be out of your hair soon," Zoe said. "You know I don't like bugging you guys."_

_"I know, eighteen years with you was more than enough," her father joked._

_Mrs. Orimoto rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't listen to him. He's just going through a mid-life crisis right now."_

_"Hey, I was kidding!" He said, feigning insult. "And who says I'm going through a mid-life crisis?" _

_"Well, for the past week, all you've been doing is complaining about how the guy from your office bought a new motorcycle and that you feel old," she pointed out._

_"I just said that it was nice," he shot back. "I don't feel old....well, except for in the morning..."_

_Zoe smirked. "Well, I'm gonna go to my old room and unpack a few things."_

_Her mother smiled. "Okay, your father and I will be leaving in about twenty minutes to go out to dinner. Are you sure you don't want to come?"_

_The blond shook her head. "Nah, that's okay. I haven't slept that well, so I'm probably just gonna go to bed soon."_

_"Okay, we'll bring you something home for you if you want," she offered._

_"No, I'm not hungry. Thanks anyway," Zoe said, beginning to head up the stairs before glancing back at her parents. "Um, are you sure you guys want to go out tonight? You know, with that new virus making everyone sick?"_

_Mr. Orimoto waved his hand dismissively. "Eh, we'll be fine. We've both had our flu shots."_

_Zoe's face furrowed slightly into a frown. "But it's not like the flu. The reports say that it's been more serious than that. I think a few people have even been hospitalized for it."_

_"Don't worry about us," he told her. "They're just trying to scare everyone with the news report. We'll be fine."_

_Zoe hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I'll uh..see ya tomorrow then. Have fun."_

_Thirty minutes later, after she had unpacked and her parents had left, Zoe took out her laptop. She stared at the blank screen, a sigh escaping from her._

_"Dammit," she muttered, rubbing her tired eyes. "Can't think of anything....."_

_She sat there for another five minutes until she finally exited the application and closed the laptop. After putting it on the floor, she laid down on her old bed, resting her head against the purple pillow._

_"Maybe I just need some sleep," she said to herself. "Then tomorrow I might think of something."_

_Zoe flicked off the light and succumbed to the darkness, her mind still uneasy about her parents' departure._

"Aaah, dammit!"

The sound of Kouji's loud complaint snapped Zoe back to reality, and she jerked her head up in surprise.

Takuya looked at the girl and smiled sheepishly. "Eh, sorry about that. Kouji was being an idiot and got hit with a bottlecap."

Zoe raised an eyebrow, confused. "How did he manage that one?"

"He was shaking the bottle of soda and then a freak accident with the cap happened," Tommy explained. "Got him right in the cheek."

"Funniest thing I've seen all day," Takuya added with a chuckle.

Kouji rubbed his sore face and glared at the two brunettes. "Shut up. It wasn't funny."

"Aw come on, Kouji. It was too."

"Kanbara, in one minute, I'm throwing your ass out of this room and into that horde in the lobby," Kouji hissed.

Takuya laughed. "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me."

"Like hell you are," the raven-haired man grumbled.

Zoe and Tommy exchanged amused glances, then continued to nibble at their snacks. Tommy sighed, unwrapping a four-pack of Oreos as he sat down on a chair. Although he normally didn't consume this much junk food in one sitting, he was raveneous and it was the only thing available. By now he had eaten a package of cupcakes, two bags of chips, and had downed one and a half bottles of soda.

As he ate his second Oreo, his mind, too, began to wander.

_One week ago_

_"Himi! Are you ready with those results yet?!"_

_Tommy looked up at his supervisor, who also happened to be the owner of the company's son._

_He sighed, holding up the sheets of paper. "Yeah, I just finished, Eric."_

_"Everyone else can call me 'Eric', but you can refer to me as 'Mr. Carrolla'. I don't allow children to call me by my first name," Eric sneered._

_"Sorry, Mr. Carrolla," Tommy replied quietly. "It won't happen again."_

_Eric smirked. "Good, because you wouldn't want me to write you up for being disrespectful, would you?"_

_Tommy shook his head. "No, sir."_

_"Terrific," he said in a fake cheerful voice. "And just to let you know, I'll need you to work overtime tonight."_

_"But I'm supposed to leave in an hour. What time am I staying until?" Tommy inquired, clearly not happy about staying later._

_Eric ruffled through the papers Tommy had just handed to him. "Well, normally you would leave at five. But I need you until ten o'clock tonight."_

_"Ten?" Tommy asked incredulously. "Why so late?"_

_"Well, since half of our colleagues are out sick, we are behind in our work," Eric told him. "Therefore, I need you to stay late to help us catch up."_

_Tommy rolled his eyes, his anger rising. "How are we behind in our work? I'm the only one who actually does anything around here."_

_Eric's gray eyes narrowed and he stalked over to his young co-worker. "Are you giving me an attitude?"_

_"No, sir." Tommy immediately dropped his gaze. _

_Eric leaned over slightly, his gaze almost burning a hole into Tommy's face. "Let's get this straight, you little shit. You are not in charge around here. I am. So if I ask you to do something, you'll do it. And if you refuse, I won't hesitate to fire you on the spot."_

_Tommy looked up and glared at him. "You're only in charge when your daddy's not around. Besides, I have a feeling that you probably won't fire me."_

_"Oh, is that so?" His supervisor sneered. "Why do you think that?"_

_"Well, as I said, I'm the only one who actually does any work around here," Tommy began. "So if you fire me, there goes most of your progress."_

_Eric smirked. "True, but even if I don't fire you, I can guarantee to make your life a living hell."_

_"I'll quit," Tommy threatened, his heart pounding with a mixture of anxiety and rage._

_"Quit if you want," Eric said with a shrug. "Even with your degree, you'll still have trouble finding another job so soon. I mean, you wouldn't want to be unemployed and risk losing your shitty little apartment, would you?"_

_Tommy's lips were thin as he tried his best to remain calm. However, he finally sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor, his shoulders slumping. He shook his head, too defeated to reply vocally._

_Eric smile, satisfied with himself. "Glad you see things my way. So ten o'clock. And even through you're working overtime, don't expect to be paid extra for it."_

_"Yes, sir," Tommy mumbled._

_The older man shrugged his coat on, then pulled a small bottle of pills out of his pocket. Eric extracted three white pills from the bottle and popped them into his mouth, grimacing as he swallowed them dry._

_"Coming down with something?" Tommy asked monotonely._

_"Might be coming down with the damn flu myself, so right there is another reason to make sure you catch up on the work," Eric muttered. "My shift is over, so enjoy your next six hours."_

_With that, he walked out of the room, giving Tommy one last victorious smile, as if he had won a war. He then closed the door, leaving the young brunette alone. Tommy listened to the heavy footsteps making their way down the hallway, then groaned in frustration. _

_"Asshole," he hissed, hurling a pen into the nearby wall._

_The pen struck the wall, its tip embedded into a photograph hanging up. Ironically, it was Eric's 'Employee of the Month' picture. The pen stuck directly into the left eye of the photograph._

Tommy looked down and realized that his Oreos were gone. He discarded the empty package into the nearby garbage bin and took a swig of his drink.

The infected were outside the door, continuing to bang into it. Their attempts were futile, however, and so far they had made no progress.

"Well, now we have a whole horde to look forward to," Takuya muttered. "Fucking exciting, isn't it?"

Kouji grunted in annoyance. "I almost feel like we're never gonna get out of this bullshit."

"We will, it'll just take a little while," Takuya replied, making sure his rifle was fully loaded. "We just have to annihilate the group outside and get to the rooftop. We'll be the safest up there and hopefully the lights up there will alert any helicopters flying by."

"But there's no guarantee that we'll be seen, right?" Tommy asked, his voice laced with concern.

Takuya hesitated for a moment, then solemnly shook his head. "No, there is no guarantee. But it's our best shot. I say we either get to the roof or die trying."

"Don't know about you guys, but I'll turn the gun on myself before I let them infect me," Zoe's soft voice said.

"Well, let's hope that it doesn't come to that," the brunette replied grimly. "But I can't blame you for feeling that way...."

Kouji absently scratched his arm, his fingers running over a patch on the sleeve of his jacket. Takuya noticed the patch and read it, a crooked smile appearing on his face.

"Hell's Legions, huh?" He asked. "So, you're a gangbanger I see."

The raven-haired man glared at him, adjusting his blue bandana. "Yeah, I'm part of a fucking gang. Or at least, I was. Why, what's it too ya?"

"Nothing, I'm just making an observation," the soldier replied.

"Well, mind your own business. How I live my life is none of your concern," Kouji snapped.

Takuya rolled his eyes. "Didn't say that it was. But if it's that much of a touchy subject, I'll let it go."

Kouji's sapphire eyes angrily flashed at him. "No, you wanna know how I got into this fucking situation? I'll fucking tell you. My twin brother and I moved here a few years ago, and tried to find jobs. It didn't work out, so we joined a fucking gang for money. Went pretty well, except for the fact that half of our friends were slaughtered over the past week. Two days ago, we were chased into our apartment. The fuckers broke in and killed our three roommates, then turned on us. My brother, Kouichi, saved my ass. But...."

The other three waited patiently as Kouji mustered up the nerve to finish what he was saying.

Kouji sighed, then continued. "He was attacked by a Hunter, and I was thrown out of the window. I survived obviously, but Kouichi....he was left inside to die...."

"Kouji, I'm-"

"No, I don't wanna hear it," Kouji interrupted Takuya. "Just...forget this ever happened. But now you know how I got into this hellhole and why I'm so fucking depressed. So get used to it."

Takuya and Zoe exchanged glances, while Tommy frowned, trying to listen to something.

"Hey," he said quietly. "You hear that?"

The other survivors remained silent and listened to see what he was talking about. After a few seconds, Zoe looked up at them.

"I don't hear anything....it's strange," she mused.

"Exactly," Tommy pointed out. "The horde seems to have gone away. They must've given up and moved away to another part of the hospital."

Takuya sighed. "Either that or they went back outside. Though I doubt we should be so lucky...."

"You think we should get out of here and make our way to the roof as quickly as possible?" Zoe asked.

The brunette thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, seems like a smart decision to make our move right now. Agreed?"

"Whatever," Kouji muttered carelessly. "I'm tired of being in here anyway."

"Is everyone all set and ready to go?" Takuya asked. "And make sure your guns are loaded."

Once everyone made sure that their weapons were filled with ammo, they cautiously made their way to the door. Takuya moved one of the cushions away from the side windows and peered out. From what he could see, not a single infected person was lurking around.

"Okay, help me move this," he said, taking hold of the destroyed vending machine that was blocking the door.

Kouji held onto the other side of the machine and helped Takuya heave it out of the way. After another moment, Takuya carefully unlocked the door, gripping his rifle tight in his hand.

"Alright, here goes nothing," he said in a low voice.

The others held their breath as he yanked the door open, waiting for someone to pop out at them. To their relief, no one showed up.

"Let's get outta here," Kouji growled, stalking out of the room.

The four of them rushed down the corrider, the lights flickering on and off.

"How long do you think before we-"

Kouji was cut off as he was suddenly tackled by a mysterious figure from behind the front desk.

"Shit!" He cried out, his shotgun slipping from his hands.

The figure was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, undeniably being a Hunter. It pinned Kouji to the floor, snarling at him.

"Fuck!" Takuya went to shoot the Hunter off, only for a Tank to lunge at him out of nowhere.

He jumped away from the hulking human, and the Tank swung its heavy arms at both Tommy and Zoe. The two of them flew backwards from the heavy blow, surprised about how it had managed to sneak up on them. As Takuya attempted to dodge another of it's hits, Kouji was struggling to get the Hunter off of him.

"Get offa me, you fucking bastard!" He cried out, punching the figure.

The Hunter's hood flew backward, falling off of his head. Kouji looked at the infected human and felt his heart stop momentarily. His blood felt as though it had frozen and he lost all strength as the Hunter growled menacingly. With a choked stutter, Kouji managed to say a single word.

"K-K-Kouichi?"

**So, did you guys like the little curveball I decided to throw in at the end? :3 I hope so. And yeah, so I revealed a few more things, but didn't want to give away too much too soon. But don't worry, there will be more information in Chapter....uh, let's see...if I follow the storyline, the next chapter like this will be chapter 10 I think. So please review and let me know what you think, as I am dying to know. **

**And as for the name of Kouji's gang, it is the same one that Francis belonged to (the character that I'm basing Kouji off from the game)**


	8. Chapter 8: The Hospital

**Alrighty, sorry for taking so long to update this. You know, busy week, I've got an annoying cold with a headache that won't go away, you know, pretty much every annoyance out there. Plus we're supposed to get a shitload of snow this week...dammit... Don't get me wrong, I used to like having snow since it got me out of school. But since I've graduated, it means that I'm stuck inside snowed in. Good point is that I'll be able to update I guess. Bad thing is that I'll go crazy cuz I don't like staying in the same place for too long. Especially if it's with those morons who call themselves my family.... Ugh, just give me a friggen gun and put me out of my misery. But anyway, the story is continuing and you can see that I have gone back to add which campaign the story is at to help me keep track. This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but not too bad (I hope). Well, please let me know what you think of this chapter and send me a review for a free hug!**

**Takuya: They don't want a hug from you!**

**me: Oh... *thinks a moment* I know! Everyone who reviews gets a free pass to kick Takuya's ass! Melee weapons are included :)**

**everyone: Yay!**

**Takuya: What?!**

**me: ^_^ Now on to the story!**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**_Campaign 1: No Mercy- Part 4 _**

**Chapter 8: The Hospital **

_The Hunter's hood flew backward, falling off of his head. Kouji looked at the infected human and felt his heart stop momentarily. His blood felt as though it had frozen and he lost all strength as the Hunter growled menacingly. With a choked stutter, Kouji managed to say a single word._

_"K-K-Kouichi?"_

Kouji stared at his twin in utter shock. Unlike the rest of the Hunters, Kouichi still retained his eyes. However, his once-sapphire colored eyes were now a dark onyx color instead. There was only a thin ring of blue on the very edge of his irises.

"Kouichi! Let me go!" Kouji struggled under his brother's grip.

Kouichi simply grabbed Kouji around the throat, threatening to crush his larynx. He raised his other arm to slash Kouji across his chest, uncaring that his victim was his own brother.

"Kouji!" Takuya raised his gun, ready to shoot Kouichi.

Tommy and Zoe were taking this time to shoot the Tank down, its blood squirting over them in thick geisers.

"Takuya, d-don't!" Kouji choked out, squirming under Kouichi's weight.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Takuya let out an aggravated groan and blew an infected woman's head off. "Why don't you want me to shoot the fucking thing?!"

Kouichi slashed Kouji across the chest, sending a muffled scream from the pinned young man. Takuya cursed, then slammed the butt of his rifle into the back of Kouichi's head. The raven-haired Hunter screeched and leapt off of Kouji, landing on one of the walls. He scampered down the hallway almost like a spider, disappearing into the darkness.

"What the fuck, Kouji?!" Takuya dragged Kouji up by his sleeve. "He could've killed you!"

"It's my fucking brother!" Kouji shot back, still in shock over the ordeal.

Takuya gave him a strange look, as if he hadn't heard right. "Wait, that dude is your brother? I thought your brother died."

"So did I!" Kouji exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air as emphasis. "But apparently he's a friggen Hunter now!"

"Well, I don't mean to interrupt, but we shoud go," Zoe said, steadying Tommy, who was slightly swaying. "You know, before we're ambushed. I'm sure that that's not the last we'll see of Kouji's brother."

"Yeah, good plan," Takuya agreed, glancing at Kouji. "You okay?"

Kouji sighed, nodding solemnely. "Yeah, let's go."

The four of them headed down the corrider of the hospital, the lights dimly lit. To their right, there was an empty room, a first-aid kit discarded on the floor. Takuya rushed over to it and quickly checked its contents. Discovering it to be full, he slung it over his back, then made his way back out to meet the others.

As they continued through the hallway, a few of the infected charged at them, many of them wearing hospital gowns. Their gowns were soaked with blood, as were their hands.

"Great, so the lunatics of this place actually became homcidally insane by the looks of it," Kouji mused as he shot at the group.

"Yup," Takuya stated with a half-smile. "Welcome to Mercy Hospital; where the crazy become even crazier."

"This is a mental institution?" Tommy asked, surprised.

Zoe shook her head, however. "No, it's a regular hospital. But there is a psyche ward somewhere in the building, I think."

Once the group had been blasted to bits, Takuya and the others headed down to the end of the corrider. They entered through a door, coming up to yet another door to the right. There was a staircase right through the second one, but as they were about to go through, another swarm flew down the stairs, seen by the glass window in the wooden door..

"Ah, fucking great," Takuya muttered as he fired his rifle straight through the glass.

"Shit!" Zoe realized that another horde was rushing through the other door, the one they had just come through. "We've got more company!"

Kouji groaned, firing his shotgun at the zombie-like savages. "I swear, this shit is never gonna end, is it? Besides, where the fuck are we heading anyway?"

"The rooftop!" Takuya shouted, blowing a man's head cleanly off his shoulders. "It's our best bet for a helicoptor to find us."

"How long will it take?" Tommy shot a woman through her chest, causing her organs to fly out through her back. "Wow, that was cool!"

A Boomer lumbered through one of the doors, green bile leaking from his mouth.

"Fuck no!" Takuya and Kouji exclaimed in unision, shooting the bloated human directly in his head.

The Boomer was killed before he could spew his disgusting liquid, but it puddled around his corpse nonetheless. The infected scrambled through the doors, attracted by the bile.

"Just great," Zoe grumbled, taking down as many as she could. "These guys just keep on coming, huh?"

After what seemed like an eternity, the hordes of infected dwindled down to only a few. Once they had been finished off, Takuya nodded towards the stairs.

"Up there. Quickly," he told them.

The four survivors sprinted up the steps, reloading their weapons as they did so. They ran up three flights total, coming up to another floor of Mercy Hospital. This floor was much darker than the previous one, only a few dying lights to illuminate their surroundings. Takuya mumbled something under his breath, before pulling out four miniature flashlights from his pockets.

"Here you guys go," he said, handing each of them one. "A present."

Kouji stared at him with annoyance. "Flashlights? You couldn't have given these to us earlier?!"

Takuya shrugged nonchalantly. "Sorry, I forgot that I had them."

"Forgot that you had them?!" Kouji exclaimed. "Why I oughta-"

"Shut up!" Zoe shouted, coming in between them. "Let's go already!"

Tommy began to follow the blond, glancing back at the other two. "I'm with her."

"Yeah, same here," Takuya added, rushing after the pair.

Kouji reluctantly followed as well, grumbling obscenities under his breath. They walked down the short hallway and through a swinging door, coming up to yet another room. This particular area was much larger and more open than the others, and inside many of the infected were lurking around in the shadows.

A Hunter jumped out of the darkness, snarling at the group. This one was not wearing a black Hoodie, so Kouji knew right away that it was not his brother. He shot the Hunter squarely in the face, causing the corpse to crash in a sickening heap. The horde of infected hurried over, slashing out at the group with their jagged, bloody nails. As Takuya and the others fired furiously at the swarm, a Tank ambled out of a corner. The behemoth uttered a low, guttural growl, swiping its heavy arm at them. Kouji and Tommy managed to jump away at the last second, just out of the Tank's reach. However, Takuya and Zoe had been closer to the over-sized human and took the blow. The two of them flew backwards, Takuya wrapping his arm around Zoe's shoulders. He held her close as they crashed to the ground, landing side by side.

"You alright?" He asked, holding his gun up with his free arm.

Zoe nodded shakily, watching as he shot the Tank through the eye, killing the monstrous giant. The brunette then pulled her up, brushing the sleeves of her jacket off.

"You sure?" Takuya asked again.

Before she could answer, they were interrupted by Kouji. "Hey, I don't mean to stop 'Happy Hour', but Tommy and I need your friggen help!"

Takuya and Zoe blushed slightly, rushing over to the pair. They shot down several of the infected, scattering bits of bone and organs across the vast room. A single Smoker attempted to wrap its tongue around Kouji's neck, who jerked away from it.

"I don't think so, Fucker." Kouji shot its tongue out of its head, then fired again.

The Smoker shuddered, before collapsing to the floor with a thud. Once it was dead, they hurried up another stairwell at the corner of the room. The group rushed up the stairs, coming up to the next floor. Unlike the others, the staircase had led up to an open hallway, a simple rail over the edge. It was almost balcony-like, and many of the infected rushed into the room below them. Dozens of them attempted to leap onto the railing, only to be shot down miliseconds later.

"Yeah, I think we should go before we run out of ammo," Tommy speculated. "We'll be at it all night if we just stand here."

"I'll have to agree with you on that," Takuya replied, leading them down the hallway as quickly as possible.

They ran down the corrider, stopping momentarily as Kouji and Tommy stopped into a nearby room to gather a pile of ammunition. Once it had been dispersed throughout the four of them, they continued through the infested building.

"More stairs," Kouji sighed as they climbed up three more flights. "How many flights are there?"

"A shitload," Takuya told him. "Can't give you an exact number, but you get the point."

They arrived at the landing of another floor, wandering down the corrider with caution. Crazed, infected patients stumbled about, delirious and bloodthirsty. They were immediately gunned down and left to die in their own puddles of blood if they weren't already dead. A Witch stumbled out of the darkness from behind a counter, her long claw-like nails extended. With an agonized wail, she pinned Takuya to a wall, her nails just barely missing the flesh of his shoulders. With the fabric of his sleeves caught, Takuya was not able to get a clear shot of the female infected.

However, the Witch's head was blown off, her blood spraying all over the walls and ceiling. Zoe gave Takuya a smirk, pulling the dead woman's nails from his shirt. Takuya returned the half-smile, ripping the nails out as well. He managed to break off a few of the Witch's fingers carelessly, wanting to free himself quicker.

"Okay, let's go," Kouji said. "I wanna get out of here."

"Let's go this way," Tommy chimed in as he nodded to the awaiting corrider.

The others agreed, heading down the dreary hallway rapidly. They turned right, only to be attacked by several more of the infected. They killed the vicious humans with ease, making sure to avoid them at all costs.

"Really don't wanna get infected," Takuya mused as he blew them to bits.

"I'll second that," Tommy replied with a chuckle.

A large window had been broken, and several Hunters scampered in though the opening.

"Fuck!" Kouji exclaimed, shooting at them. "If you see my brother, don't shoot him!"

"Dammit, Kouji!" Takuya fired at the agile beings. "If he infects us, I'll kill you my damn self!"

The brunette grabbed a pipe bomb from his belt, throwing it at the horde.

"Fucking run!" He shouted.

As they ran, the bomb went off, causing several of the infected to blow up from the blast. It had exploded closer to them as usual, sending the four of them to be thrown forward from the force. Luckily, none of htem had been hurt, and they immediately scrambled back up. While many of the infected had been killed, a large number of them continued to run towards them.

"Oh, what the fuck...." Kouji fired at the infected, as did the others.

While they shot the horde, Zoe noticed a nearby elevator, as well as another pile of ammunition.

"Hey, get to the elevator!" She shouted, making a path for them.

The blond shot the infected that were in her way, followed by the others. Takuya joined her at the front, helping her to take down the aproaching group. Once they had reached the elevator, Zoe quickly pushed the button to open the doors. Takuya hurriedly gathered up the ammuntion, while Kouji and Tommy shot at the infected to fend them off.

"C'mon, you stupid thing," Takuya growled at the slow doors.

After what seemed like an eternity, the doors finally opened. The survivors rushed into the elevator, continuing to shoot at the approaching group as they waited for the doors to close once again.

When the elevator finally closed, everyone sank down to the floor. They warily reloaded their guns, all of them gasping for breath.

"I'm gonna pass out," Zoe panted.

"Wait until we get to the roof," Takuya told her tiredly.

"I'll try," she replied. "Can't make any promises."

Takuya watched as the numbers in the elevator went up, climbing up to the top of the buildilng. They took this time to rest and recuperate, their hearts pounding from exhaustion and anxiety.

"Alright," Takuya said, standing up. "We're getting close."

The others rose as well, staring at the floor indicator. It stopped at the number 28, halting them in the elevator. With a ding, the doors opened, leading them into the floor directly below the roof itself. The level resembled an attic almost, but there were no walls to seal the room in. Instead, several metal bars and beams attached the ceiling, with discarded items left behind to be stored on the floor. There were about two dozen of the infected lurking around, their clothes so saturated with blood that they dripped. None of them had been aware of the survivors' presence immediately. Zoe and Tommy looked at each other and sighed, feeling completely drained of energy.

"We've gotta get to the roof," Takuya whispered to them. "Either that or we find a safe room."

Kouji wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, groaning. "Whatever we find first....I just need some rest for now..."

Takuya nodded, leading them through the floor as quietly as possible. However, the infected heard their footsteps and rushed over to them with rage.

"Fuck!" Takuya shot at the approaching horde, backing up as he did so.

The others followed suit, determined to bring down the swarm. Their guns roared and their bulllets penetrated the infected, ripping chunks of flesh off in the process.

"Okay, just run!" Kouji commanded them as he noticed a dark hallway off to the side.

The four of them sprinted down the corrider, the infected in pursuit. Once they had neared the end of it, they noticed a small staircase leading up to the roof, as well as a door leading into a safe room.

"Get in the room!" Takuya shouted, glancing over his shoulder as he ran. "At this rate, we'll need to rest before we get to the roof!"

A Hunter sprang forward, lunging at the group. He snarled and slashed Tommy across his side, ripping his shirt and bloodying it. Tommy cried out, clutching at his side in pain. He almost fell, only to be supported by Kouji.

"Come on, don't fucking fall down," Kouji growled, shooting the Hunter through his head.

The Hunter fell to the ground, his brain splattered on the cement floor.

"Hurry!" Takuya told them as they approached the room. "Get inside!"

Tommy limped into the room as Kouji held onto him, Takuya and Zoe fending off the horde.

"Okay, we're in!" Kouji shouted, sitting Tommy down. "I'll shoot them so you can get in!"

As he fired his shotgun at the infected, Takuya and Zoe took the opportunity to run inside. However, Zoe's legs gave out unexpectedly and she almost fell. Takuya quickly caught her and gathered her into his arms, rushing through the door. Kouji immediately slammed the door shut, locking it securely.

"Zoe, are you okay?" Takuya asked, still holding her.

The blond nodded in response, then looked at Tommy. "But is he?"

Tommy was lying on a nearby couch, clutching his bleeding side with one hand. He was groaning in pain and blood spurted out through his fingers.

"Shit," Kouji muttered, making his way over to the young man.

Takuya carefully set Zoe down, and the two of them walked over to him as well.

"Stand back," Takuya said, pulling a first-aid kit off his back. "Tommy, do you know if it's deep?"

Tommy shook his head, his face contorted in pain. "I..don't think so.... It's...a scratch...I think...but it hurts...."

Zoe gingerly tugged his shirt up, gingerly peeling it away from his slashed side. Although it was bleeding quite heavily, Takuya let out a sigh of relief after inspecting it.

"It's only a flesh wound, so they didn't hurt you too seriously," he said to Tommy. "But either way, we're gonna have to wrap this up."

He opened a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, dabbing a guaze with the clear liquid.

"Oh, not alcohol," Tommy moaned. "That shit burns like hell."

"Sorry, Tommy," Takuya apologized. "But it's all we've got and we can't risk you getting an infection. Now hold still, this shit'll sting for a sec."

He pressed the guaze into Tommy's side, who jumped at the burning senstation. Zoe grabbed hold of his hand while Kouji held him down firmly.

"You can let go," Tommy hissed to Kouji. "I'm not gonna jump off the damn couch."

"Suit yourself," Kouji muttered as he released the younger boy.

He sat down on a chair, sighing as he did so. While Takuya and Zoe applied more gauze and bandages to Tommy, Kouji couldn't help but think about his brother.

_Kouichi,_ he thought miserably. _What happened to you?_

Kouji sighed again, glancing over at the trio, before dropping his gaze to the floor. His brother was now one of _them_. And if it came down to it, he would have to kill him, too....

**So that is the end of the chapter ^_^ Yup, I added some Takumi! And Kouichi wasn't around for very long, but you know that he'll be back at some point. Kouji's feeling all emo (but I guess he has an excuse). Chapter 9 comes out some point this week so stay tuned and again, send me a review to kick Takuya's ass! And get a hug if you want one =3**

**Takuya: Creep...**

**me: No, I would be a creep if I was a scary-looking guy in his mid-forties sitting in the back of an ice cream truck with his hand down his pants while staring at the kiddies. Which I'm not. I'm a girl (not middle-aged for that matter) sitting in a chair typing this up.... But now I want ice cream... Oh, ice cream.... *wanders away in search of ice cream***


	9. Chapter 9: The Rooftop Finale

**Alright, we are on our last part of campaign one of four. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I don't think you'll be too disappointed with what I've written. And if you are...then I'll blame Takuya.**

**Takuya: Hey!**

**me: Anyway, here is chapter 9! Enjoy!**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**_Campaign 1: No Mercy- Part 5_**

**Chapter 9: The Rooftop Finale**

Tommy sighed, swallowing three pain pills. "I swear, I'm gonna OD at this rate...."

"You and me both," Takuya muttered, popping two pills into his mouth as well.

"We have to get out of here soon," Zoe speculated as she stared at the door. "They're going to break through before we know it."

"The door's metal," Kouji scoffed.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Doesn't matter. It's still denting pretty quickly. There are too many of them for it not to be broken through. Especially if there's a Tank amongst them."

"Then we'll just have to book it out of here. And seeing how the way we came through is the only way out, we'll just have to go that way," Takuya said as he stood up. "Everyone reload and make sure you've wrapped all of your wounds if you have any."

"Aye aye, Captain," Kouji mocked as he loaded shells into his shotgun. "Getting to the roof is going to be a bitch..."

"It's going to be a bitch even when we do get to the roof," Takuya added. "There's a chance that we'll have company when we reach the top."

Tommy painfully stood up, waiting for the pills to kick in. "Not looking forward to this...."

"None of us are at this point. Hopefully a helicoptor sees us quickly enough." Takuya pulled a pipe bomb from his belt and stared at it. "Now here's what we'll do; Tommy, you pull the door open for us. Kouji and Zoe can shoot at the horde waiting outside while I quickly throw the bomb. Once it's out of my hand, I'll shoot at them, too, and we'll get out that way. Does that sound okay?"

"Sounds fine to me," Zoe said.

Tommy and Kouji nodded in agreement as well, Tommy taking his place in front of the door.

"Remember to jump back as far as you can so that the infected can't attack you and so that we don't accidentally shoot you," Takuya reminded him.

"Yup." Tommy firmly took a grip on the handle, his other hand ready to disengage the lock. "Ready?"

Kouji and Zoe each pointed their guns at the door, unanimously replying, "Yes."

Takuya pulled the tab out of the bomb and positioned it to hurl it out of the room. "Go!"

The younger brunette heaved the door open, moving away from harm as he did so. Takuya quickly threw the ticking bomb out of the room, while Zoe and Kouji fired frantically at the horde that was now running into the room. Tommy got out from behind the door and began to shoot at the swarm as well, along with Takuya.

Several of the infected exploded into a bloody mess as the bomb went off, their mutilated corpses flung across the room. The ones who had not run after the flashing device were now being ripped to shreds from the Survivors' bullets. They snarled and tried to scamper into the safe room, only to be gunned down. Luckily for Takuya and the others, there had not been as many of the infected waiting outside as they had anticipated. The swarm had been destroyed within seconds.

"Okay, up that staircase!" Takuya commanded them. "Hurry!"

The four of them ascended the steps, then took a left once they had reached the top. They came to yet another floor, this one closed in with walls like the rest of the building, and there were several rooms on both sides of the hallway. The structure seemed to be made of concrete, and Kouji groaned loudly with annoyance."

"Those stairs don't lead us directly to the roof?!" He complained.

"No, but close," Takuya told him as they hurried down the corrider. "Won't be too long."

A few of the infected ambled out of the darkness, their clothes ripped and bloody. They growled at the small group as they attempted to sink their yellowing teeth into their flesh. The Survivors shot them as quickly as they could, trying to run through the hall as they did so. They wanted to get to the roof as fast as possible and shooting while running would speed up the process. Once they had slaughtered their way through that particular group, Takuya and Zoe ran ahead of the other two, going into a room to the left.

The room was virtually bare, with a vent concealed with a flimsy white covering. There was also a large opening in the wall that led to the yet another room. As they scanned their surroundings, they heard Tommy call them from the corrider.

"Guys, we've got a problem!" He shouted above his gunfire.

Takuya and Zoe sprinted out of the room just in time to see Tommy and Kouji firing at two of the infected. To their dismay, one of them was a Witch. The Witch let out and agonized cry, swinging her long claws frantically. She dismembered the other infected human, then sprinted into the room Takuya and Zoe had just been in. She wailed as their bullets missed her, then ran directly through the vent, destroying the white covering.

"Shit!" Kouji exclaimed as he and the others ran to the vent. "Let's kill the fucking bitch!"

"No! Go this way!" Takuya told him, indicating the large opening in the wall instead.

The four of them jumped over the ruined ledge that led into the other room, landing on metal walkway that resembled a long fire escape. They ran down the path, seeing the Witch across the room. By the time they had caught up to her, she was climbing a ladder. They went to shoot her, only for her disappear to the ledge above them.

"Dammit!" Kouji yelled.

"Relax," Takuya hissed. "She's running away, so if we see her, we'll blow her head off. Calm the fuck down."

Tommy and Zoe fired at a few infected people rushing over to them, causing two of them to fall over the edge. While they killed the infected, Takuya and Kouji took this time to climb up the ladder.

"Come on, guys." Takuya nodded to the ladder, signalling for Zoe and Tommy to go up the ladder as well.

The duo nodded, each of them climbing up the rungs until they reached the top of the landing. They noticed the Witch climbing up yet another ladder relatively nearby, so Takuya aimed directly at her head. He got a clean shot, causing her brain to explode out of her destroyed skull.

"Hey, I was gonna kill her, you bastard," Kouji quipped, though did not seem angry.

"I thought you wanted to date her," Takuya replied with a chuckle.

The four of them ran over to the ladder that the Witch had attempted to climb, then looked up at the opening up top.

"That'll lead us to the rooftop," Zoe told them as she went up.

The others followed suit, finally reaching their long-awaited destination. It had begun to rain, and the lower part of the roof was covered in several structures that resembled garages. There was also a platform for where a helicoptor could land, which is where they had come out. Unfortunately, the rooftop had been overrun by the infected.

"Ah, well that's great," Tommy griped.

"Not surprising, though," Takuya said with a sigh. "Figured that it wouldn't be this easy..."

"But you wanted us to come here!" Kouji told him. "It was your idea to come here and wait for a fucking chopper to show up!"

Takuya rolled his eyes, firing at some of the zombie-like humans who had decided to run over to them. "Did you have a better idea? Or even an idea in general?"

"Fuck you," Kouji muttered in response, shooting at the infected as well.

"We better look for a radio to signal the helicoptor," Zoe chimed in. "Maybe there'll be one in one of those little garages."

"It's worth a shot," Takuya commented as he jumped down to the lower level of the roof.

His three teammates descended as well, running towards the miniature buildings as quickly as possible. They shot at the hordes of infected rushing over, splattering their bullet-ridden bodies across the concrete rooftop. Rain and wind whipped into their faces, distorting their vision slightly. Each of them ran into one of the garage-like structures, hoping to find anything useful.

Kouji and Zoe were lucky enough to find ammunition in theirs, all the while they evaded being attacked by the infected. Takuya and Tommy found nothing in the ones they had searched, finding only empty pill bottles and corpses.

Takuya headed into another one, this time followed by the other three. It was larger than the rest and seemed to offer more shelter and safety. They barricaded the door, hearing the horde outside angrily banging at the small garage.

"Fuck, they keep coming," Zoe said as she panted with exhaustion.

"Where the hell is the chopper?" Kouji asked, peering out a window.

"I don't know," Takuya told him. "We may have to find a radio and call one. Try to find one before those fuckers break in."

They searched their surroundings, praying that there was at least one working radio. There was an adjoining room, so they decided to check in there as well.

"Oh, here's one," Tommy said excitedly.

"Does it work?" Zoe asked nervously.

"Only one way to find out." Takuya took the radio from Tommy and pushed a small red button. "Hello? Is anyone there? Do you copy?"

For a few seconds, they could only hear static, their hopes diminishing as they waited for a voice.

"Is anyone there?" Takuya repeated.

They could hear the banging grow louder, and Kouji quickly moved to barricade the second door.

"Fuck, no one's answering," Kouji hissed. "They're gonna break in soon."

"Dammit, is anyone there?!" Takuya exclaimed.

There was a loud noise, the sound of wood breaking, and then banging just outside the door Kouji had just barricaded.

"Shit! They're in!" Tommy said frantically.

Zoe pointed her gun at the door and shot a bullet right through it, striking one of the infected on the other side.

"We can't hold them off forever, so we might as well start now," she said in a low voice.

"Fuck!" Takuya slammed the radio down, preparing to fire his own weapon as well.

Kouji and Tommy had already joined Zoe in gunning down the horde, and just as Takuya was about to fire, there was a static-filled voice coming from the radio.

"Roger. Where are ya'll whereabouts?" The voice asked.

Takuya smiled and grabbed the electronic device once again. "We're on the rooftop of Mercy Hospital. We're about to be slaughtered by the infected, so get your ass here as soon as possible!"

"Roger." The person on the other end hung up.

"Are they coming?" Kouji asked.

"They better," Takuya replied through gritted teeth as he shot the infected through the door.

The four of them continued to shoot at the swarm, until finally the door had been broken down. Nearly two dozen of the infected rushed at them, slashing their bloody hands at them.

Tommy grabbed a molotiv cocktail and tossed at the doorway, where it burst into flames. It caused a wall of fire between them and most of the vicious savages. Many of them caught on fire as they attempted to run through the flaming wall, only to collapse in a charred heap. The few that did manage to get through were immediately shot dead.

"Okay, I think we should get outta here," Kouij speculated.

There was another door for them escape out of, and together, Kouji and Takuya moved the metal bar from it.

"Alright, let's go!" Takuya shouted, signalling for them to run outside.

The four of them did so, feeling the rain whip around them. However, they hadn't noticed the quartet of Smokers lurking in the shadows. They were each grabbed by the special infecteds' tongues, caught off guard. Takuya felt a tongue wrap around his ankle, trying to drag him forward. The rain caused him to skid on the slick rooftop, and he fell to ground while the Smoke reeled him in. Kouji had been grabbed around the waist, Zoe around the neck, and Tommy around his wrist.

"Let go of me, you fucker!" Takuya reached down and pulled a small knife from the side of his boot, slicing the tongue off.

Kouji shot his Smoker in the chest, and Zoe managed to shoot hers right through its head. Tommy had a bit of trouble, seeing how his captive arm was the one he used to fire his weapon. Luckily, he roughly grabbed hold of the slimy tongue and squeezed it as hard as he could. The Smoker squealed, loosening its grip enough to allow Tommy shoot it.

Once they were all freed, they frantically ran over towards the helicoptor platform.

"I hope it gets here soon," Zoe said worriedly.

"Me too," Takuya added.

Another large horde of the infected rushed over to them, the number of them staggering.

"Fuck, this ain't good," Kouji growled.

They evaded the attacking enemies, blowing off as many of their heads as they could. Blood spurted and stained the rooftop, mixing in with the rain to make a watery consistency. Amongst them was a Tank, who attempted to throw a discarded crate at them.

"Shit!" Takuya cursed as they jumped away from the object.

They fired at it furiously, sweat and water running down their faces. The Tank finally collapsed into an unmoving heap, its body filled with bullet holes.

"Okay, reload," Takuya said tiredly, his hands shaking slightly from exhaustion. "This chopper needs to hurry the fuck up..."

Once they had reloaded their guns, they looked into the sky. In the distance, they could see the faint lights of the helicoptor approaching.

"Finally," Tommy gasped.

"But we need to get to platform," Zoe told them. "So we better get there quickly."

The four of them sprinted over towards the platform, about to reach the ladder that would lead them to it. To their surprise, another Tank bursted out of nowhere, swinging its arms at them as hard as it could. Takuya was struck by the behemoth, and flew over the edge of the building.

"Takuya!" Zoe cried out, running over to where he had fallen.

Tommy joined her, for Kouji had nodded in his approval.

"Go help him!" The raven-haired young man said as he shot at the Tank's head. "I'll take care of this bastard."

To their relief, Takuya had not fallen completely off the building, but was dangling from the side of it. His quick reflexes had allowed him to toss his gun to the side before he had tumbled over, therefore saving his weapon. Zoe and Tommy eached grabbed hold of one of his arms, heaving him up. Takuya climbed up over the edge, leaning on them for support momentarily.

"Are you okay?" Zoe asked him, her face filled with concern.

Takuya nodded, rising to his feet. "I'm alright."

He looked over to see that Kouji had managed to kill the Tank, who had a huge grin on his face.

"I got him," Kouji said proudly.

He was about to run over to his teammates, only to be tackled by a figure.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed, somewhat shocked to come face to face with his own brother again. "Kouichi, stop it!"

The others went to help him, but yet another staggering swarm was rushing over to them. None of them had an opening to get to Kouji, desperately shooting their way through the infected crowd.

"Kouji, hold on!" Takuya shouted, retrieving his rifle.

Kouji slammed the butt of his gun into Kouichi's chin, causing his twin to growl. Kouichi glared at him, then dove at him. He easily overpowered Kouji, pinning him to the ground yet again. His face was only inches away, and his teeth threatened to bite down into Kouji's exposed throat.

"Kouichi! Stop!" Kouji cried out, hoping to get some sense into his brother.

However, Kouichi only snarled, then slashed his hand across Kouji's face. Three bloody scratches appeared on Kouji's cheek, a sharp stinging sensation along with them.

"Kouji!" The other three yelled.

It seemed that with every infected person they had killed, another one appeared to take its place.

"Please, Kouichi! Stop it! It's me! Kouji!" The bandana-wearing young man tried to push his brother away, reluctant to shoot him.

Even if he had wanted to shoot, however, he was in a position where he would not be able to get an accurate shot. Kouichi's dark eyes flashed, and he grabbed his younger twin around the throat. He slowly squeezed it, causing Kouji to take gaspy breaths.

"K-Kouichi!" Kouji choked out, feeling his oxygen depleting. "S-stop!"

Kouichi twitched slightly, staring down at Kouji. His brother was turning a deathly pale shade, and he could feel the pulse slowing down under his fingers.

"Kouji!" Takuya tried to run over to him, only to blocked by another group of the infected. "Fuck!"

He frantically shot his way through as fast as he could, dreading that he would come to Kouji's aid too late. Zoe and Tommy were in no better position, just barely evading the attacking humans.

"God, how many are there?!" Zoe cried out, wincing as she was sprayed by a gush of blood.

Kouichi's eyes were now two black slits, watching as his brother slowly died beneath him. Kouji's flailing grew weaker and he stared up at Kouichi pleadingly. Just as he was on the verge of blacking out, the older twin suddenly released him, away a second later. Kouji slowly sat up, surprised. Kouichi stood with his back turned, his hands clenched into tight fists. He then shocked Kouji further by attacking the other infected humans.

"Kouichi?" Kouji shakily stood up, holding his gun tight.

By now the number was steadily decreasing and the chopper grew closer.

"Hurry and get to the platform!" Takuya shouted above the roar of gunfire.

He ran up to the ladder, followed by Zoe and Tommy. However, Kouji remained behind as he watched Kouichi slaughter his way through the horde.

"Kouichi!" He called out.

The short-haired twin glanced back at him and smirked, then then broke the neck of one of the infected.

Kouji grinned, relieved about the abrupt change. "Kouichi, we need to go! Come with me!"

"Kouji, what the fuck are you doing?! Get the fuck over here!" Takuya screamed as he ascended the ladder.

Tommy and Zoe climbed up after him, staring back at Kouji with confusion.

"Kouji, come on!" Zoe said loudly.

After a hesitation, Kouji hurried up after them, then watched as Kouichi followed him.

"Dude, what the fuck is he doing?" Takuya pointed his rifle at the Hunter.

"Don't!" Kouji shoved the gun away. "He's on our side!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?! What do you mean he's on our side?!" Takuya glanced over to the helicoptor and saw as it slowly began to lower down to them. "The chopper is here and we need to get on right now!"

"Not without my brother!" He shot back. "I'm not leaving him again!"

Zoe's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?! He'll kill us!"

"Did he kill me?! No!" Kouji exclaimed.

"What if he does later? And he might kill the three of us, too, while he's at it!" Tommy pointed out.

"Just give him a chance! Please!"

Takuya groaned, hopping into the lowered chopper. "Dammit, we gotta go! He can come, but if he tries anything, I'll blow his fucking head off! I'm not fucking around, Kouji!"

He helped Zoe and Tommy get in, then signalled for Kouji to enter.

"You coming?" Kouji asked his brother.

The short-haired twin remained silent, but hopped inside the chopper nonetheless. The pilot then steered the flying contraption away from the rooftop.

"How ya'll doin' tonight?" The pilot casually asked in a thick accent.

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Takuya hissed, eyeing Kouichi suspiciously.

The Hunter was staring at the hospital, where the rooftop was now completely overrun by the infected.

"Got'cha out jus' in time, didn't I?" The pilot looked at Kouichi and frowned. "Hey, is he one of the infected?! I don't want 'im in my fucking chopper!"

"No, he's okay. He won't do anything," Kouji blurted out. "I swear."

The pilot sighed, adjusting his baseball cap. "If ya say so..."

Kouji settled down beside Kouichi, somewhat nervous. "Kouichi?"

His brother glanced at him, then turned his head away. Kouji decided not to upset him, so he kept silent as well. Takuya remained uneasy about the Hunter, and he held his rifle tightly in case.

"I don't trust many people," he told Kouji. "But I'll take your word for this. I don't trust your bro, but I won't kill him unless he does anything. Sorry, but I won't allow him to kill us."

Kouji nodded in understanding, not wanting to respond vocally. With a sigh, the brunette sat back in his seat beside Zoe, who had stripped off her blood-soaked jacket. Her head was lolling forward slightly, as was Tommy's. Takuya blushed slightly as Zoe leaned against him, completely worn out from the long battle.

"Where are we heading?" Takuya asked the pilot.

"Wherever I decide t'land." He steered them away from the ruined city, to yet another destination.

Hopefully the next would be less perilous....

**Yay! I'm done with the first campaign of the story/game! Only three more campaigns to go :p And yeah, Kouichi's going to be tagging along for now, but we'll see how that goes. You'll find out why he stopped killing his brother, as well as few more tidbits of information. Please review and tell me what you think ^_^.**

**And yeah, Takuya's a bit paranoid, but he really can't be blamed. Again, you'll see what happens with Kouichi in the next chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10: Early Landing

**Okay, this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but that's cuz it's not part of one of the levels, so there was less for me to write. But it's still over 3,000 words long so that should be long enough for your liking. Please review and tell me what you think.**

**Also, I will be gone Monday-Wednesday, so no updates till Thursday. The next chapter of this story should be out Friday, but I'm not sure yet.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or Left4Dead**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**Chapter 10: Early Landing**

"Is there anywhere in particular that you're heading?" Takuya asked the pilot.

It had been almost twenty minutes since they had escaped from Mercy Hospital, and none of them had a clue where they were going. Tommy had dozed off due to his exhaustion, as did Zoe, who was now leaning up against Takuya in her sleep.

"I go wherever the chopper takes me," he replied. "And my name is Frank in case ya'll are wonderin'."

Kouji, who had been silent for the past few minutes, spoke up. "Yeah, but you're operating the helicoptor, so you should know where you're headed."

"Don't sass me, boy," Frank snapped. "We go wherever the chopper takes us."

Kouji rolled his eyes. "If you say so...."

"So that's yer brother?" The pilot asked him, glancing back at Kouichi. "And he's one of 'em, right?"

"Yeah," the long-haired twin said somberly. "But I don't think we have to worry about him."

"Boy, I hope yer right," Frank muttered. "I ain't need no infected in this here aircraft. Blow off the son of a bitch's head if need be."

Kouji glared at him. "I know what I'm doing...."

"So, I take is as you're immune, seeing how you're not infected," Takuya said to the pilot, wanting to change the subject. "Good thing you picked us up."

"That's right. Are ya'll infected?" Frank inquired, steering the chopper.

"I hope not," the soldier replied. "I don't think we are, but we won't know for sure unless we start showing symptoms. The virus is usually spread from biting, but it could become airborne for all we know."

"Good to hear," the pilot commented. "Now let's get somewhere safe 'fore we turn into one of 'em. I ain't gonna be turned into no zombie."

Kouji hesitated, then gently knudged his brother. "Kouichi?"

Kouichi merely glanced at him before averting his gaze back to floor. He was twitching slightly, causing Takuya to watch him with a wary eye. His gun was still firmly grasped in his hands.

"You alright?" Takuya asked him.

The older twin let out a low growl, though it did not sound threatening. He pulled his hood up over his head, concealing his onyx-colored eyes.

Takuya looked at Kouji, then sighed. "Kouji, I don't want you to think that I'm asshole for being on guard like this. I really don't want to hurt your brother, but you know that I'll do it if it comes to it."

"I understand," Kouji said in a rather annoyed voice. "I mean, how would you feel if this was your brother?"

"I would act the same way you are," the brunette told him. "I'm grateful that my family got away in time."

"I can't really blame you for being this way, though." Kouji fixed his bandana. "Especially since none of us have encountered an infected person who was still.....humane...."

Takuya hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Actually....I have...."

Kouji's eyes widened. "What? When?"

"Three days ago," Takuya responded. "Right after my two commrades were killed by the Witch. I was going from building to building, trying to find ammuntion and a way out of the city. I encountered a man who was turning into a Smoker. His face was puffed up and bloated from the infection. I almost shot him...but then he spoke."

"Are you fucking serious?" Kouji asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kouichi glanced over to them, slightly interested in what Takuya had to say.

"Yeah. His speech was a bit distorted, but I could understand him well enough. He said that he wouldn't attack me...and I believed him," Takuya began. "He showed me this one place that was filled with ammo and first-aid supplies. Along the way, he told me a bit about what had happened to him. He said that he had been infected two days before, but unlike the others, he didn't completely change. He still held onto his humane side...and he fought to keep it. I was with him for about twenty-four hours, the two of us working together."

"What happened to him?" Kouji inquired, dreading what Takuya might say. "Did he....go berserk?"

"Actually, no," Takuya said, shaking his head. "He twitched a lot, kind of like Kouichi is doing. But he didn't snap like I had thought he would. We were attacked by a Tank, and he showed me a quick way to get away from the bastard. But before he could go up after me, the Tank grabbed him and....."

"Killed him?" Kouji finished for him.

Takuya nodded. "Yeah, he ripped his head right off.... So based on the way that Smoker acted, I think your brother may have a decent chance of living with it."

Kouji's eyes turned dark, however. "But he shouldn't have to live this way! I mean, he could turn any second now and end up like the others. I don't even know if he can talk, for cryin' out loud."

"Can you talk?" Takuya asked Kouichi, who was taken back by the question. "Do you think you can speak? Even one word?"

Instead of responding, Kouichi simply looked away, his hands trembling slightly.

Kouji sighed. "It's no use...."

Takuya shifted Zoe, who had began to topple over. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, letting her head rest against the crook of his arm.

"He'll talk when he's ready," he told Kouji nonchalantly.

"Yeah, if he can," Kouji replied miserably, then looked over at the sleeping pair. "Wonder what those two are dreaming about..."

"Beats the fuck outta me," Takuya said. "Probably dreaming about getting away from this hellhole."

_Ten days ago_

_Zoe awoke at the sound of her parents' car pulling into the driveway, the headlights flashing through the window. Curious, the blond glanced at the clock. It read 9:31 p.m._

_"What the hell? They were gone for four hours just to go out to dinner?" She mumbled to herself, slowly getting out of her bed._

_She heard the front door open and close, then a few hushed mutters._

_"Mom? Dad?" Zoe slowly made her way downstairs, then gasped when she saw the state her parents were in. "Wha-what happened to you?!"_

_Mr. and Mrs. Orimoto's clothes had been torn and dirtied, and their arms and legs were covered in bloody wounds._

_"We were attacked," Mrs. Orimoto said in a hysterical voice. "I thought they were going to mug us....but they attacked us instead!"_

_"Who attacked you?" Zoe asked, drawing closer to them._

_"Some fucking teenagers," her father growled angrily. "A couple of little punks who looked like they were on drugs. Hell, they probably were...."_

_Zoe's emerald eyes were wide with shock. "Are you two okay?"_

_"Well, your mother is a bit hysterical as you can see," Mr. Orimoto commented._

_"Can you blame me?!" Mrs. Orimoto let out a sob and smoothed down her wrinkled dress. "They were like animals!"_

_Mr. Orimoto wrapped his arms around his wife, trying to calm her. "I know, but it's over. They're gone and we're safe in our house." _

_"A group of teenagers just randomly attacked you?" Zoe asked. "And they didn't mug you?"_

_"No, they just ran off when they were done. But the strange thing about those little bastards is that they didn't attack us like normal people would..."_

_"What do you mean by that?" Zoe asked, frowning._

_"Well, they didn't punch or kick us or anything. But they scratched and bit us," he muttered, glancing down at the teeth marks on his arms._

_"Oh, god...." Zoe stared at their abrasions in horror. "Stay right here, I'll go get the first-aid kit."_

_However, Mr. Orimoto held up a hand to stop her. "No, it's fine, Zoe. Your mother and I will just jump in the shower and clean off that way. We have band-aids in our closet, so we can fend for ourselves."_

_"Are you sure?" She asked, worried._

_Mrs. Orimoto wiped her teary eyes, then flashed her daughter a smile. "No, really. We'll be fine. I'm just a little freaked out from the ordeal. We're really not that hurt."_

_Zoe hesitated, staying where she was for another minute. "You're absolutely positive that you're okay?"_

_"We're fine. Now go back to bed," her mother said. "You look like you haven't slept in days."_

_"Yeah, I guess." The blond girl began to shuffle back upstairs, still uneasy about the situation. "I'll check up on you two in the morning, okay?"_

_Mr. Orimoto shrugged. "If you want to, you can. But I can assure you, we're just fine."_

_"Okay..." Zoe made her way to the top of the staircase, glancing down at her parents one last time for the night. "Goodnight."_

_"Night, Zoe," her parents replied._

_With a sigh, Zoe went into her bedroom, gently closing the door behind her. She settled onto her bed, her heart pounding. Despite her parents' reassurances, she wasn't completely convinced that they were okay...._

"Whoa!" Zoe hitched forward as the helicoptor hit a bit of turbulence, almost falling from her seat.

However, Takuya's strong arms held her firmly in place, causing the blond to blush from the closeness.

"Sorry, missy," Frank apologized. "Jus' a bit of weather can make this chopper go every which way. Good ole' Mother Nature jus' doin' her thang."

"Uh, that's okay," Zoe said. "It just surprised me, that's all."

"Have any good dreams?" Takuya asked her with a half-smile.

Zoe shook her head somberly. "No dreams...just a few nightmares.... Bad memories..."

"Sorry," the brunette replied, flinching. "I hope I didn't upset you."

"Nah, it's okay," Zoe said dismissively. "Doesn't bother me."

Takuya could see that she was lying, as her sparkling eyes had turned slightly dull when she had answered. Instead of asking her the questions he wanted her to answer, he simply remained silent, allowing her to lean her aching against him.

"Thanks," the blond mumbled. "I'm so tired....."

"Go back to sleep if you want," he told her. "I'll wake you when we land."

Zoe shook her head, however, not wanting any more nightmares. "I'll pass. But thanks anyway."

Meanwhile, Tommy had remained asleep throughout the turbulence, undisturbed by the ordeal.

_Five days ago_

_Tommy searched through his papers, an aggravated sigh coming from him. "Where are those files I just printed up? They've gotta be around here somewhere?"_

_"Looking for these?" Eric stepped forward with the papers clutched tightly in his hands. _

_"Yeah, where were they?" Tommy asked him._

_"While you were goofing off on your cell phone, I took them to look over them," his supervisor sneered. "And I'm not happy with what I read."_

_"I wasn't goofing off, though," Tommy protested. "It was just a text message from my brother. He sent me an important-"_

_Eric slammed the papers down in front of the younger man. "I don't care what the fuck he sent you. The rules say that there will be no cell phone usage during work hours. Do I make myself clear?"_

_"Yes, sir," Tommy muttered. "And what's wrong with the files I printed up?"_

_"They were very disorganized for one thing," Eric rudely said._

_Tommy's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that? I'm the most organized person here. And seeing how I'm doing all of the work alone again, I think I'm doing the best that I can. It doesn't help that half of the building is out sick."_

_"Well, if they're sick, then we don't want them spreading their fucking sickness to us, do we?" He shot back._

_"No, but-"_

_"Besides," Eric interrupted. "I showed up to work and I'm sick. And even though I am a bit disoriented, I know low-quality work when I see it. So do these over and have them on my desk by the end of the night. You're working until ten tonight."_

_Tommy wanted to object, but decided against it. "Yes, sir...."_

_Eric pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, hacking severely into it. When he pulled it away from his mouth,Tommy could see red spots amongst yellowish-green mucus. Eric made a disgusted face, as if he swallowed something repulsive._

_"Fucking flu," he grumbled. "I'll be leaving now. And get those files right this time."_

_He made his way out of the room, leaving Tommy alone again. The nineteen year-old stared after his boss, his face etched with a frown as he pondered his thoughts. He doubted that Eric had only a flu._

_"Don't be crazy," he chided himself. "He's just congested and coughing up crap. He'll be over it soon enough..."_

Tommy snorted, then yawned. He stretched his arms, accidentally conking Kouji in the head.

"Hey!" Kouji exclaimed, fixing his bandana.

Tommy smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to hit you."

"Whatever. Just don't do it again." Kouji glanced outside, then groaned. "I hate flying. And helicoptors...."

"Why do you hate flying?" Takuya asked him with a smirk.

Kouji shrugged. "I hate flying 'cause I hate being off the ground. Why, got a problem with that?"

"No. Plenty of people have a fear of flying," Takuya replied.

"I'm not afraid of flying," Kouji said as he rolled his eyes. "I would just rather be on the ground."

Frank chuckled. "Everythang looks better from the sky. Ain't nothin' better."

"I'd have to disagree on that one," Kouji muttered. "Planes and helicoptors aren't my idea of fun."

"Suit yerself," the pilot said, wiping his face with a cloth. "Though t'is hot up here..."

"You're hot?" Takuya raised an eyebrow. "It's kind of cold, don't you think?"

Frank continued to wipe his face, his breathing growing more shallow. "Naw, I'm sweatin' bullets. Must be comin' down wit' somethin'."

The others exchanged glances, nervous about the pilot.

"So, Frank," Takuya began. "How exactly are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm a bit clammy and light-headed for one thang," Frank told him. "Kinda feel like I'm gettin' the shakes. It's not right..."

Kouji could feel his heart quicken. "Uh, were you bitten at all?"

"What?" Frank glanced back at him, annoyed. "What's that s'posed to mean? I ain't infected!"

"No, I was just wondering if-"

Frank cut Kouji off, however, angrily flying the aircraft. "I ain't fuckin' infected! So don't go 'round making accusations, boy."

The pilot flew them past a body of water, and they could vaguely make out land below them. Frank continued to wipe his face furiously, the beads of sweat visibly running down his face. His shirt collar clung to his neck in a wet ring, and stains appeared on his shirt below his armpits. His fingers shook slightly and he began to veer off course.

"Hey! Careful!" Takuya cried out as everyone but Kouichi flew from their seats.

If the doors of the chopper hadn't been closed, they surely would've fallen out.

"Don' tell me how to do my job!" Frank snapped at him.

"Do you need to take a break?" Takuya asked, trying to grab onto one of the seats to steady himself.

"I'm fine!" Frank shouted. "Stop tellin' me what to do! I ain't fuckin' sick so quit whinin'."

Zoe looked at Takuya fearfully, uneasy about the man in front of them. Kouichi's eyes were narrowed into black slits, a low growl erupting from him.

Frank glanced back at him. "Don' even think about it! You try anything, and I'll blow yer head off, you freak."

"Hey, don't call my brother a freak!" Kouji exclaimed, furious.

Suddenly, Frank began to convulse, jerking the helicoptor to the side sharply. With a yelp of surprise, the four Survivors banged into the sides of the chopper painfully. Kouichi was crouched on his seat, looking as though he was ready to pounce.

"Is he going to attack us?" Zoe asked Takuya in a low voice.

Takuya noticed the direction Kouichi was looking in and shook his head. "No, not us..."

Kouji and Tommy watched as Frank shuddered and fell from his seat, foam spurting from his mouth. He laid on the floor shaking with what appeared to be a seizure, his eyes wide and bloodshot.

"Oh, god!" Zoe turned her head away from the horrifying sight.

Frank's hands were wildly flailing around, as if he were trying to slash at them. He rolled onto his stomach, scrambling to his feet.

"Shit!" Takuya went to shoot him, only for Kouichi to leap onto the pilot.

Kouichi tackled the man, slashing him violently across the chest. Blood squirted in every direction as his fingers tore into Frank's flesh, mutilating the pilot. A mouthful of blood trickled from the dying man's mouth, a puddle forming around in his head. Frank attempted to lash out at Kouichi in retaliation, who grabbed his head between his hands. The Hunter jerked Frank's head to the side, breaking his neck in the process.

Everyone remained speechless as Kouichi kicked the corpse closer to the helicoptor's door. They cried out, however, when he pulled it open to heave the body out of the aircraft.

"Shit!" Takuya grabbed hold of one of the seats as the wind threatened to yank him out of the chopper.

Zoe was holding onto his hand tightly, one of Tommy's in her other hand. Kouji almost fell out of the helicoptor just as Kouichi shoved Frank's corpse out. Before he could fall, however, Kouichi roughly grabbed his brother and threw him back inside. He slammed the door shut, causing the gust of wind to cease its threat of pulling them out. The Hunter then settled back into his seat, his hands shaking slightly.

"Shit, now what?!" Takuya exclaimed as he realized their situation. "We don't have a pilot now!"

"Fuck!" Kouji groaned. "Kanbara, fly this thing!"

"What?! I don't know how to fly a fucking chopper!"

Kouji sighed. "I thought you were training to be a soldier."

"Soldier, yes. Pilot, no. There's a difference!" Takuya shouted.

Tommy stood there petrified as the helicoptor began to descend. "We're gonna die...."

"Very likely," Zoe said with a bit of indifference.

"Well, someone do something!" Kouji yelled. "Or we'll fucking crash!"

Takuya groaned. "Fine! I'll fucking try to land this piece of shit! So hang on!"

He took the controls and attempted to lower the aircraft to the ground, his hands trembling with anxiety. The brunette managed to slow it slightly as they drew closer to the ground, but not enough for a safe landing.

"Shit! Brace yourselves!" Takuya cried out as the chopper hurtled down.

Everyone grabbed hold of a seat and closed their eyes, waiting to be killed in fiery crash.

**Okay, that wraps up this chapter. Hope you liked it so tell me what you think. Next chapter coming by this weekend ^_^**


	11. Chapter 11: The Turnpike

**Hello! We are back with yet another chapter of Dark Sanctuary! Now that campaign 1 has been completed, we are now on campaign 2. We are a quarter of the way through the game (cuz the story is not going to be 40 chapters long) so yeah....it's exciting....maybe. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and if not....well, at least you read it, right? Please review and let me know how it was.**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**_Campaign 2: Death Toll- Part 1_**

**Chapter 11: The Turnpike **

The chopper slammed into the pavement, sending its passengers crashing around inside the aircraft. The helicoptor slid several yards, finally coming to a shaky stop.

"Ugh...my head," Kouji complained, rubbing his sore cranium.

Takuya groaned, heaving himself up. "Is everyone okay?"

"I just said that my head hurts, dumbass," Kouji griped.

"Besides that," Takuya growled, rolling his eyes.

Tommy and Zoe were both lying on the floor, curled into balls. They each nodded, too in shock to speak. Kouichi was nonchalantly sitting on one of the seats, as if the aircraft had never crashed. He was merely staring out one of the cracked windows.

"Miracle we fucking survived that," Takuya muttered, crouching beside Zoe. "You alright?"

"I'm doing just great," she replied, painfully sitting up. "Might need some of those pain pills, though..."

"I second that," Tommy chimed in.

Everyone minus Kouichi took three pills each, swallowing them dry. They then followed Kouichi's example and looked out the windows. Although there was no one in sight, they didn't feel any relief.

"Don't think we're out of danger," Takuya told them. "We better get going, so reload your weapons and let's go."

Once they had done so, the soldier attempted to open the door. To his annoyance, it wouldn't budge.

"The impact must've sealed the door," Zoe said with a sigh. "It's been dented too badly to be opened."

"Well, now what?" Kouji groaned. "We're fucked!"

However, before he could continue on with his rant, Kouichi stepped forward. He firmly grasped the handle of the door and ripped it off its hinges. Everyone watched him in amazement as he easily threw it off to the side.

"Damn," Takuya finally said. "Kouji, your brother is friggen awesome."

Zoe smiled. "Yeah, it pays to have a Hunter on our side."

Kouji smirked at his brother. "Hmm, no kidding."

"Okay, we better get going," Tommy said, his voice tinged with uneasiness.

"Yeah..." Everyone trailed off unenthusiastically.

The five of them headed down the slightly foggy road, their hearts pounding rapidly in their chests. The road was surrounded by trees on both sides, and there was a tunnel in the distance.

"Looks like we're on a turnpike," Takuya observed.

"No shit, Sherlock," Kouji quipped.

Through the mist, they could see several figures approaching them in a familiar shaky manner.

"Fuck, we've got company," Takuya groaned, pointing his assault rifle.

The horde of infected rushed over to them, their eyes wide and crazed. Guns roared and bullets flew, penetrating deep into the bodies of the zombie-like humans. Kouichi growled and pounced on one of the infected, slashing his nails across the man's throat. Blood spurted out of the man's destroyed neck, spraying onto the raven-haired Hunter. Kouichi glared down at the corpse for a moment, then leapt onto yet another infected human, this one a woman. He brutally ripped his way through her chest easily, sending chunks of flesh flying through the air as he made his way to her heart.

As the Survivors fired at the swarm, one of the infected in particular differed from the others. It was a man who was crouched down, his stature resembling that of a monkey's. His lips were drawn back to reveal his teeth, giving him an almost skeletal-like appearence. His brown hair was short and sticking to his head with sweat, and he wore blue boxers and a white undershirt. A shrill laugh escaped from the man and he bounced towards them.

"Shit! It's a Jockey!" Takuya shouted, firing at the man.

The Jockey avoided the gunfire, leaping onto Tommy's shoulders. Tommy screamed as the Jockey laughed manically, steering him straight into a group of the infected.

"Oh my god! What's he doing to Tommy?!" Zoe cried out, trying her best to shoot the crazed infected man.

"Jockey's have the ability to latch onto someone and steer them into danger. We have to shoot him before Tommy's killed by that horde!" Takuya told them.

While Zoe concentrated on shooting down the swarm of infected growing closer to Tommy, Takuya and Kouji tried to shoot the laughing man. A bullet finally ripped through the Jockey's head, just as Zoe shot the last remaining infected person that was near Tommy. The Jockey howled with laughter one last time, before collapsing to the ground, dead.

"Tommy! Are you okay?" Takuya asked, rushing over to him.

The younger brunette nodded, his eyes wide with fear. "Uh..yeah...I'm fine....just fine...."

The five of them continued to run down the road, firing at any approaching infected humans. Deserted cars began to litter the turnpike, some of them totaled and flipped upside down.

"Go down there!" Takuya told them, pointing to a ravine.

"What? Why?!" Kouji asked.

The soldier groaned. "Because in case you didn't notice, that part of the turnpike is a low bridge! And the bridge is missing a huge fucking piece!"

"Oh." Kouji followed Takuya and the others down the hill that led to the ravine.

There were a few infected lurking around in the lower area, but they were quickly shot down in an array of bullets. Crimson stained the yellowing grass, leaving behind thick puddles.

"Get to that ladder! It'll lead up back up to the bridge," Takuya said, indicating the rusty device.

A Smoker ambled out from behind a tree, trying to wrap its thick tongue around Kouichi.

"Kouichi!" Kouji aimed at the Smoker's bloated head.

However, before he could fire, Kouichi grabbed the tongue and yanked it with all his might. The tongue ripped out of the Smoker's mouth in a bloody riff, causing the infected being to screech in agony. Zoe then shot it squarely through its head, killing it, .

"Okay, that was friggen awesome," Kouji said with a smirk. "But we better hurry the hell up."

They approached the rickity ladder, Takuya climbing up first. Zoe was close behind him, followed by Tommy, and Kouji. Kouichi simply pistoned his legs and hurled himself up past the ladder and onto the ground above. As she climbed, Zoe turned her head to make sure that there weren't any infected humans following them. Satisfied that there were none, she turned her face back up to see how much further she needed to climb up. To her surprise, her face bumped into Takuya's butt, who had stopped mid-climb. Zoe blushed, tearing her face away.

"Why did you stop?!" She exclaimed, embarrassed.

"Sorry, but I have to shoot this thing," he replied, firing his gun as he did so.

The corpse of an infected woman tumbled into the ravine, landing a few feet away from Kouji.

"Okay, it's dead, now go!" The blond gave Takuya a quick smack on the behind to hurry him up.

They reached the top in time to see Kouichi break the neck of another infected, his chest heaving. His eyes were narrowed into slits, and he was panting loudly.

"You okay?" Kouji asked, trying to put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

However, Kouichi tore away from the younger twin's touch, refusing to look at him. Kouji stared at him with a hurt expression, but decided not to say anything otherwise.

Now that they were back on the bridge, there was a tunnel in front of them. Several more cars littered the road, many of them concealed by the shadows of the tunnel.

"So...we gotta go in there, don't we?" Tommy asked nervously.

"I'm afraid so," Takuya replied with a sigh. "Just be careful because the lighting will be weak."

The five of them cautiously made their way into the ominous tunnel, hearing the scamper of a horde drawing nearer. They could see well enough to make out their surroundings once they were inside, but they still needed to squint to see things completely clear. They shot at the swarm furiously, while Kouichi resumed tearing some of them to shreds. Mixed in with the horde were a Boomer and a Jockey.

"Shit! Not those again," Takuya muttered, referring to the Jockey.

Tommy shot at the Boomer, taking advantage of the bloated human's slow pace. Its body crashed to the ground, a stream of bile leaking from its gaped mouth. This time around, the Jockey was shot dead before it could jump onto anyone's shoulders. The Survivors evaded several of the infected by side-stepping around the cars, then shooting the zombie-like humans once they were a safe distance away.

"Dammit, this friggen turnpike is filled with cars," Kouji muttered in annoyance. "Now it'll take us even longer to get through..."

"Yeah, but we'll just have to deal with it," Takuya said as he shot one of the infected through the head.

Brain matter and blood leaked out of the large hole in the woman's head and she collapsed to the ground. The group of five continued to make their way down the tunnel, shooting every infected person they encountered. On each side of the tunnel, there was a small opening, almost like a miniature path of its own.

"Hey, let's check inside those to see if there's anything useful," Takuya told the others. "We'll split up to make sure we have back-up."

Takuya and Zoe inspected one, while Kouji and Tommy checked out the other. Kouichi remained out in the open, mutilating the ambling zombie-like humans around him. His blood-soaked sweatshirt clung to him and his hood slipped off his head. However, instead of adjusting it, he merely left it to hang down between his shoulder blades.

"Zoe, I found some ammo....and by the looks of it, another pipe bomb." Takuya slipped the ammunition into a pouch, then stuffed the bomb into his belt. "Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, a first-aid kit," the blond replied as she slung it over her back. "Now let's get out of here."

Meanwhile, Kouji and Tommy found only a single molotov cocktail in their side of the tunnel.

"Dammit," Kouji muttered as they emerged. "This isn't going to be all that helpful."

Tommy shrugged. "Hey, it's better than nothing."

They joined the other three, their panic escalating by yet another approaching horde.

"When will this end?" Tommy asked solemnly.

"When we're dead," Kouji replied in a monotone voice.

Takuya nodded towards the end of the tunnel. "Let's just run like hell and get the fuck outta here. Just shoot the ones that get in your way. We need to find some type of safe room and fast!"

The others nodded in agreement and sprinted through the dim structure. To them it felt like a cave, just swarming with all types of vile creatures. Shrieking infected humans ran over to them at an alarming rate, but they were gunned down quite rapidly. Takuya and the others weaved around the cars, their chests burning from exhaustion. A Witch suddenly stumbled out from behind a car, pouncing on Kouji.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, his gun sliding away from him. "Help!"

"Fuck!" Takuya aimed his gun at the woman, whose sharp nails were ready to rip Kouji's throat open.

"K-K-Kouji!" Kouichi snarled and forcefully ripped the Witch off his brother.

The Witch wailed and swiped her claws at the Hunter, slicing the front of his hoodie. Kouichi only glared at her and leapt on top of her. The Witch screamed again, fell backwards. There was a spurt of blood once she had landed, squirting onto Kouichi. A rusty pole had impaled her directly through her back, emerging from her chest. Kouichi then snapped her neck, killing her.

Kouji sat up, his eyes wide with shock. "K-Kouichi? You can talk?"

The older twin grunted instead of giving him a vocal answer, but pulled roughly Kouji up nonetheless.

"Uh, guys?" Tommy intercepted. "Don't mean to interrupt or anything, but we've gotta go!"

As a hulking Tank rushed up to them from behind, everyone but Kouichi swore under their breath. Without a second thought, they all booked it down the tunnel. Unfortunately for them, the end was now being swarmed by another threatening horde.

"Dammit! What do we do?" Zoe asked, a frown on her face. "I don't think we can take them all down!"

"Fuck!" Takuya looked around, hoping to find a miracle. "Hey! Over there! There's another opening off to the side past that blockade! Go in there!"

"But what if it's another useless tunnel like those smaller ones we were just in?" Kouji looked concerned.

Takuya glanced over his shoulder, watching as the behemoth stumbled over to them. "We're just going to have to take that chance, Kouji!"

The turnpike was filled with cars, all of them parked so close together that there was no room to squeeze in between them. The Survivors had no choice but to run over the cars rather than past them. Kouichi was able to manage easily enough, while the others struggled slightly over the unsteady row of cars.

"Shit, hurry!" Takuya called out. "The Tank's getting closer!"

Sure enough, the large infected human was already close behind, knocking several of the cars out of its way. Takuya and the others jumped over the last of the cars, sprinting into the nearby opening he had indicated. Luck was on their side, as the opening led them to a staircase instead of a useless tunnel. They ran down three flights of stairs, shooting the few infected that were roaming around inside. At the bottom of the last staircase, there was a door with a hole in it.

"Dammit, there's a bunch of them through the door," Kouji said as they all peeked through the hole.

Like they had previously done, they shot the swarm through the hole, rather than open it immediately. The task turned out to be a bit easier than they had anticipated, as they infected dropped dead within a matter of seconds. Once the room had been cleared for the most part, Takuya opened the door and motioned for the others to enter the room. The room was quite large, and above them was a metal walkway.

"Now what?" Kouji asked as a few infected scampered over to them.

"Shoot the bastards, that's what!" Takuya shouted, firing his rifle at the oncoming savages.

As Zoe shot her twin pistols, she noticed a ladder off to the side leading up to the walkway. "Hey! Go to that ladder!"

"What?" Tommy shouted, unable to hear over the gunfire.

"The ladder! Climb it!" Zoe yelled. "It's our only way out of here since there are no other doors on this level!"

Tommy nodded and rushed over to it, followed by the others. They quickly ascended the shaky rungs, making it to the top seconds later. Once they were at the landing, Kouji jerked his head to the side.

"There's another staircase right over there!" He told everyone. "Maybe it'll lead us out of here!"

Blood and organs littered the room as they killed the zombie-like humans in their way. Once they were at the steps, they hurried up as fast as they could. The staircase ended with an opening, leading them back outside. The area was surrounded by trees, indicating that they were in the woods.

"Well, now that we're out of there, I say we head this way," Takuya said after a moment, motioning to their right.

"Why that way?" Tommy asked, curious.

Takuya reloaded his gun. "Because I can see a small shack and there are more of those bastards coming from the other side."

They looked over to their left see that he was, in fact, correct. Another bloodthirsty group was hurrying over to them, their eyes wide with insanity.

"Dammit!" Everyone but Kouichi shouted unanimously.

They sprinted through the woods and headed to the shack, weaving through the trees in their way. Just as they were about to reach the door, Takuya was roughly pulled back.

"Fuck!" His rifle slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground.

A tongue was wrapped around his waist, undeniably belonging to a Smoker. However, through the thick forest, they could not see clearly and didn't know where the Smoke was hiding.

"Takuya!" Zoe exclaimed as Takuya was dragged backwards. "Oh, no you don't, you bastard!"

She stuffed her pistols into the pockets of her jacket, then leapt forward. While Takuya attempted to pull the tongue off his waist, Zoe grabbed onto him. She wrapped her arms around him, a few inches above where the disgusting tongue was.

"Guys, shoot the fucking thing!" Takuya yelled, aggrivated. "This fucker won't let go and I can't reach my knife!"

"I can't fucking see anything!" Kouji shouted.

Meanwhile, Tommy and Kouichi were busy holding off the approaching horde.

"I kind of have my hands full!" Tommy said loudly as he shot at the group. "They keep coming and they'll kill us if I don't hold them off!"

Kouichi was battling several of them as well, ripping their throats and eyes out as he snarled at them. Kouji squinted through the darkness, trying to make out his surroundings. He was too afraid to shoot randomly, as Takuya could easily be pulled into the path of the bullet.

"Dammit, let me go!" The brunette growled to the Smoker, trying to pry the tongue away.

"Takuya, where's your knife?" Zoe asked.

Takuya swore under his breath. "It's tucked in my belt, but this fucker's tongue is blocking it."

"Shit! And I don't want to shoot him because if he jerks you back the right way, I could hit you," she said helplessly.

The two of them were pulled along, Zoe refusing to let go of the soldier. Takuya dug his boots into the ground, hoping to slow the pace. It worked slightly, just in time for Kouji to finally make out the shadowy figure from behind a tree.

"Take this, you asshole!" He exclaimed, firing his shotgun once.

The Smoker's head blew off, and its body collapsed to the ground, a puff of smoke billowing around it. At the same moment, Zoe had yanked Takuya towards her with all her might. Takuya crashed into her, causing the girl to fall backwards. Since she was still holding onto him, he went down with her, landing right on top of her.

"Uh..." Takuya stared down at her, his face red.

Zoe was blushing as well, but in the darkness, neither one could see the redness in each other's faces. Takuya heaved himself off the blond, pulling her up with him. He then grabbed his dropped rifle and ran over to the shack. The soldier yanked open the door and looked at the others.

"Inside! Now!" He gave Zoe a light push through the door, then waited as everyone else entered.

Takuya shot one last infected human, then entered the shack himself. He locked the door, then glanced to his right. The others had run into another room, indicating that it was a safe room. The brunette rushed in after them, locking the door of the safe room as well.

"Fuck," he panted, sweat running down his forehead. "We made it...."

"Yeah," Zoe replied, sinking to the floor in exhaustion. "For now."

Kouji glanced at Kouichi, who was refusing to look at his brother. The younger twin sighed, but smiled to himself nonetheless. Kouichi had said his name. And that was enough to show that he remembered him.

Tommy sat back against the wall, his white shirt soaked with perspiration. "How long before we have to leave again?"

Takuya stared at them, a grim look on his face. "Soon. Very fucking soon at this rate...."

**Okay, that is the end of this chapter. Hope you liked it and I couldn't resist adding that Takuminess :p So hopefully you guys saw it as a bonus. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think, okay? I just want to make sure it resembles the game's levels enough so that it's more accurate. And yes, Kouichi can talk! Sure, he only said one word, but it was Kouji's name. So it's a start, right? Right?! Well, see ya laterz!**


	12. Chapter 12: The Drains

**I have nothing to say so please enjoy.**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**_Campaign 2: Death Toll- Part 2_**

**Chapter 12: The Drains **

The pounding on the door grew louder, and angry grunts could be heard from the other side. Despite their short stay in the room, the Survivors had been fortunate enough to find ammunition and first-aid kits. They tended to the minor scratches they had received on the turnpike, then reloaded their guns shakily.

"Well," Takuya said as he stood up. "Good thing this room has a back exit."

"Yeah, always pays to have a second escape route," Tommy added.

The room had a set of stairs, and the group of five quickly hurried up the steps, making their way to the door. The door had a small window on it and was barricaded with a metal pole locking it in place. Through the window they could see three infected humans snarling at them, scratching at the glass. Takuya and Kouji removed the heavy bar, while Tommy and Zoe had their guns pointed and ready to fire. Once the bar had been discarded, Takuya yanked the door open, causing the infected to rush in.

However, before they could get far, Zoe and Tommy had already shot them through their heads. The corpses collapsed to the floor in a puddle of blood, and the Survivors rushed through the doorway. Through the door was a large room, surprising the group.

"Huh...." Takuya mused. "Guess this place isn't just a tiny shack...."

"Looked smaller from the outside," Kouji commented.

Zoe shook her head and sighed. "There are surprises around every corner."

They were on a metal walkway, and a few more of the infected were ambling over to them. While the group shot at them, Kouichi picked up a crazed woman and threw her off the walkway, smirking in satisfaction as the woman's body laid there lifelessly in a pool of crimson once she had hit the lower level below them.

"Okay, let's go," Takuya said with a nod.

They rushed down the metal path, coming up to a turn. Just as they went around the bend, a Witch stumbled over to them.

"Fuck!" Kouji jumped away from her as she lashed out at him. "I hate these bitches!"

"But they relate to you so well," Takuya quipped as he fired a shot into the woman's stomach.

The Witch wailed and slashed her mutated nails a second time, scratching Tommy's arm. Before she could do much damage, she was shot again, this time in the head.

"You alright, Tommy?" Takuya asked, looking at the younger brunette.

Tommy winced at the stinging sensation on his bleeding forearm, but nodded nonetheless. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just go..."

He and the others continued their way down the path, coming up to a wide tunnel that resembled a large pipe. They entered it and quickly fired several rounds at the awaiting infected inside. Blood, shards of bone, and chunks of flesh flew in every direction, painting their surroundings. The blood made the tunnel slick, but everyone managed to get through without any problems.

"I hate tunnels," Kouji griped.

"I hate tunnels that are infested," Takuya muttered. "Especially with crazy fuckers..."

They turned left down the tunnel, walking another minute or so until they reached the end of it. It opened up into a large room with another metal walkway that was much like the other one they had previously been in. The path circled the round room, rather than leading a direct path to any other location in the room, and below them was a lower level filled with a threatening horde.

"How are we going to get down?" Tommy asked, his face furrowed into a frown.

"There's a ladder," Zoe told them, motioning to it down the path.

As they drew closer, they noticed that they weren't the only ones who had noticed the ladder. A few of the infected were climbing up the rusty rungs, making their way up.

"Are you kidding me?" Takuya groaned, shooting at them.

The infected fell back down to the bottom, where they laid there unmoving. Just as Takuya and the others were about to climb down, more of the infected began to climb up.

"Oh, what the fuck," Kouji grumbled. "We're never going to get down if they keep climbing up the ladder."

Without a word, Kouichi leapt off the walkway, landing on the lower level below. He began to attack any infected person coming up to the ladder, ripping their throats out with ease.

"And that's our cue to get the fuck down," Takuya said as he and the others shot the remaining infected making their way up the ladder.

While Kouichi held off the approaching horde, the Survivors sped to climb down the rungs as quickly as possible.

"Hurry!" Kouji commanded. "Kouichi can't hold them off forever!"

"You want me to go faster?" Takuya growled, being the first one going down. "Fine."

He gripped the sides of the ladder and slid down the rest of the way, ignoring the rungs. He landed on the dirt ground below and began to fire at the infected, glancing up at Kouji.

"Happy?" He called up.

Kouji rolled his eyes, but rapidly climbed down the ladder, followed by Tommy and Zoe. Once they had all reached the bottom, they all worked together to eliminate the bloodthirsty swarm. The infected lashed out at them wildlyl, one of them managing to slash his jagged nails into Zoe's chest. Three ribbons of blood emerged through her white shirt, but she simply ignored the stinging sensation.

"You asshole!" The blond cried out, shooting him directly through the eye.

"Zoe, are you okay?" Takuya asked, wincing at the sight of her wound.

"The cuts aren't deep so I'm fine," she said quickly. "I just want to get out of here."

The five of them finished off the horde, then booked it to the end of the room. There was a large opening that led to yet another tunnel, and they quickly hurried into it. They were able to get through it without a problem, then took a right to enter another tunnel. The Survivors weren't as lucky this time around, as about a dozen of the infected were lurking within the shadows. However, they were immediately gunned down or mauled by Kouichi, whose face was now covered in a layer of blood.

"Hey, there's the end of the tunnel!" Tommy shouted as they saw a light at the end. "We're almost there."

The five of them sprinted to end of it, coming to yet another room. This one was much larger than the others, and the center was submerged in a shallow pool of water. There was a ramp going around the room, although it was split into several sections rather than one large walkway. There were a few of the infected trudging in the water, making their way to Takuya and the others. Guns roared and bullets flew, and within seconds, the water was tinted red. The corpses laid there lifelessly, and they were submerged under the water after a few seconds.

"Hey, there's a ladder," Kouji said.

"Good, we need to get the fuck outta here," Takuya muttered as they rushed over to it.

Just as all of them had climbed up the rungs and made their way to the landing, a large horde rushed in below them. They were all in the water for the most part, and Takuya took this time to pull a pipe bomb out. He whistled nonchalantly as he lit it, then hurled it into the shallow pool.

"Won't that thing go out?" Kouji asked skeptically.

"Just run!" Takuya shouted. "I don't wanna stick around to find out."

There was a loud explosion seconds later, indicating that the bomb had, in fact, been able to detonate.

"One of the infected must've caught it," Tommy speculated as they ran up to a door.

Zoe glanced back in the water, which was filled with destroyed limbs and stained red. "Yeah, and by the looks of it, most of them were killed in the explosion. There are only a few left."

A minute after they had run through the door, there was a loud curse from Kouji.

"Fuck! The door to this room is blocked off," he groaned. "Now what?"

"Go back the way we came," Takuya replied, picking up a first-aid kit and a box of shotgun shells.

Tommy sighed as he and the others exited the room. "Is there another way out of here?"

"I hope so," Zoe muttered. "If not, we could be screwed."

To their relief, there was a tunnel not far from where they were standing, and it did not appear to be blocked. However, a horde was rushing up to climb the ladder on the other side of the room, intending to go after them.

"Fuck, let's go!" Takuya shouted.

Without bothering to shoot any of the infected, the five of them climbed up a few steps and entered the tunnel. It was darker then the others, almost pitch black. Luckily, they were able to make their way through using their miniature flashlights.

"Be careful," Takuya told them. "There could be a Witch here."

"Good to know," Kouji grumbled, not excited about a chance encounter with the dreaded creature.

There were a few of the ordinary infected lurking inside, and they were quickly gunned down in an array of bullets. Kouichi leapt on one of them and ripped the woman's throat out, leaving her to bleed to death.

"Damn," Kouji said in admiration. "I need to learn how to do that...."

After a minute or so of walking, the tunnel opened up to yet another large room. This room in particular was filled with pillars, and above them they could see holes that led to the level up. The room was well-lit, and only a few of the zombie-like enemies were present.

"This should be easy." Takuya fired at them, finishing them off as the others reloaded.

Suddenly, from the hole above them, several of the infected jumped down at them, taking them by surprise.

"Shit!" Tommy cried out as one of them barely missed biting his arm.

He fearfully shot it, only for another to attack him. Sharp nails scraped across his stomach, leaving three thin ribbons of blood. Tommy fired his gun at that one as well, killing it.

The others were struggling to take on the vicious horde, trying their best to avoid being bitten. Takuya grunted in pain as he was tackled into a wall by a large man. Although the man was not a Tank, he was an intimidating size. He snarled at the brunette, who shoved the barrel of his gun into the man's mouth. Takuya pulled the trigger, blowing off the back of the infected's head.

"There's too many of them!" Kouji yelled, barely dodging their attacks. "They outnumber us too much!"

Even Kouichi was having a tough time keeping the horde at bay. He could only take on the infected one at a time, and with the startling number of them, he was being knocked around constantly.

"There's a ladder there!" Zoe called to the others. "Try to get to it as best as you can!"

The Survivors struggled to make their way over to the escape route, attempting to hold off the swarm as much as possible. Takuya grabbed a molotov cocktail from a his belt and lit it, swinging it at the horde.

"Climb up as fast as you can while it holds them off!" He shouted.

The cocktail exploded, causing a wall of fire to form between him and the others. However, it would only buy them a little time; time that they desperately needed in order to escape.

Kouichi pounced up past the ladder, being the first one up. Takuya followed him, jumping up as high as he could before climbing. He managed to land halfway up the ladder, where he proceeded to climb the rest of the rungs.

"Go!" Takuya exclaimed. "They're getting through the fire! Hurry!"

"Shit!" Zoe climbed the rungs as fast as she could, aware that Tommy and Kouji were not far behind.

Just as she neared the top, Takuya grabbed onto her arm. Kouichi took her other arm, much to the surprise of both the brunette and blond. He helped Takuya pull Zoe up, then moved to grab hold of Tommy. Once the youngest Survivor had gone up, Takuya and Kouichi grasped onto Kouji's arms.

"Fuck!" Kouji cursed as one of the infected tried to climb up after him. "Get away from me!"

He kicked his leg, knocking the infected man off, then scrambled up the ladder. The five of them sprinted over to a doorway and finally exited the building. They were now outside near an parking lot that looked as though it had been overgrown with weeds. They ran across the lot, shooting down the infected humans that came rushing over to them. Kouji hurled a pipe bomb at a group of them, smirking as he did so.

"Yeah, go get the bomb, you dumb fucks!" He shouted as the small horde rushed over to the beeping object.

It detonated, sending charred flesh and blood spraying onto the pavement and nearby trees.

"Well, that took care of that," Kouji said proudly.

"Uh, think again," Takuya replied dully as he pointed.

Approaching them in the distance was another horde. Unfortunately, a Boomer and Jockey were amongst the group.

"Ah, crap," Tommy mumbled, wincing with dread. "I don't want that Jockey near me..."

"Quick! Cross the street and get to that building. We might be safer in there," Takuya told them. "But hurry, 'cause they're coming over fast."

The five of them sprinted across the street, running up to the building that the soldier had indicated. The Boomer spit out its disgusting bile, barely missing them by mere inches.

"Fuck you!" Kouji sneered, shooting it through its head.

The Jockey made its way over to them, his ear-shattering laugh echoing in their ears. His eyes were wide with malice and his bared teeth were coated with blood.

"Oh, hell no!" Tommy cried out, firing his gun.

The Jockey laughed, then tumbled to the ground. He twitched and closed his eyes a moment later, the other infected humans side-stepping his body.

"Get in the building!" Takuya yanked the door open and ushered everyone through. "Go, go, go!"

He sped through the doorway once everyone else had gone inside, slamming the door closed behind him. In the room, there were two sets of staircases, and the Survivors quickly descended the steps.

"I hope there's a safe room close by," Zoe said in a tired voice. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm running low on ammo."

"Same here," Takuya added.

Kouji and Tommy nodded in agreement as well, Kouichi not making any type of reply to Zoe's comment.

"What is this, a train station or something?" Tommy asked once they had reached the top.

In the room they had just entered, there was a train right before their eyes. The door at the end of the caboose hung open, almost inviting them to enter.

"Let's go in there and rest," Kouji huffed. "I'm fucking exhausted...."

"Yeah, let's hurry the fuck up while we're at it," Tommy added.

As they rushed up to the caboose of the train, a horde suddenly ambled out of the shadows of the dimly lit room. There were about two dozen of them, and within the mix were a Hunter, a Spitter, and a Tank.

"Oh, fuck...." Takuya took a deep breath and began to shower and array of bullets at the enemies.

The others followed his example, firing away at the infected. Blood sprayed in every direction and agonized shrieks bounced off the walls. The Tank ambled over to them, swingine one of his arms at the group. While the others dodged the behemoth, Kouichi leapt onto the overgrown man's shoulders. He slashed his nails deep into the Tank's flesh, ripping away huge chunks.

The Spitter stumbled over to where Kouji stood, a ball of acid projecting from her eroded mouth. Kouji cried out in surprise and jumped away, feeling the acid quickly burn into the right arm of his coat. As he desperately tried to pull his jacket off, the Spitter rushed over to him and lashed out at him.

"Fuck!" He felt blood drip from his chest, as well as the searing burn that had made its way to his skin.

Meanwhile, Takuya, Zoe, and Tommy were trying their best to keep the horde at bay. They shot at the swarm almost in a panic, sending severed limbs flying across the room.

"There's too many of them!" Tommy yelled above the gunfire. "We'll never make it if they keep attacking us like this!"

Zoe cursed and pulled a pipe bomb from her jacket pocket, hurling it across the room. A few of the infected chased after it, but most of them stayed to attack the trio.

The Tank grunted as Kouichi continued to maul at his shoulders. With a pained groan, the hulking man grabbed the Hunter off his back and threw him across the room. Kouichi slammed into a wall, causing concrete to chip and crumble around him. Before he could counter with his own attack, the Tank rushed over to him and punched him in the stomach.

Kouichi growled, doubling over in pain as he felt the rib-crushing power deep within his abdomen. He attempted to pounce at the Tank, only to feel a heavy fist drive deep into his chest. The Hunter crumpled to the ground, then felt as the Tank pulled him up by his throat.

"Oh, shit! He's got Kouichi!" Zoe shot her pistols at the behemoth, hoping to get him to let go.

However, before she could shoot any of his vital areas, she felt a heavy weight jump down onto her. She screamed, crashing to the ground as a Hunter dug his nails deep into the side of her throat, which had been punctured earlier. Blood spurted from her wounds and begab to pool around her head.

"Zoe!" Takuya shot one of the infected that had stumbled over to him, trying to get to the blond. "Hold on!"

Tommy was shooting at both the Tank and Spitter, going back and forth between the two. The Spitter finally fell to the floor, dead, a puddle of acid burning her scalp as it leaked from her mouth. Kouji was lying on the ground, thick gashes across his chest, as well as his burnt arm. He was conscious, yet not alert, as his gaze was up at the ceiling.

Kouichi kicked, feeling his air supply quickly diminish. Just as the Tank was about to punch him, Kouichi drew back his hand and shot it forward. He plucked the Tank's left eye out of the socket, causing the beast to release his hold on the Hunter. Angry, he hurled Kouichi into a wall, then collapsed as Tommy shot him through the back of the head. Kouichi grunted, his eyes closed with pain.

Takuya shot the last of the commonly infected, then averted his attention to the Hunter. Zoe had managed to kick the Hunter off and shoot him once in the chest, right through the heart. The hooded infected man gurgled up blood, then tried to leap onto the blond a second time. Before he could, Takuya shot him through the eye. With the Hunter dead, Takuya fell to his knees beside Zoe.

"Oh, fuck!" He exclaimed, the blood now gushing from Zoe's neck. "Everyone, get into the train!"

He gathered Zoe up in his arms, carrying her into the caboose. Kouichi limped in behind them, followed by Tommy and Kouji. Kouji had passed out, and Tommy gritted his teeth as he attempted to support the older man. He laid the long-haired twin onto the floor, exhausted.

Takuya yanked the door of the caboose closed, sealing them in safely for the time being. He then looked back and forth between Zoe, Kouji, and Kouichi. The Hunter was panting loudly, though he looked as though he had escaped without any serious injuries. However, Zoe and Kouji were in much worse condition, as both of their wounds were life-threatening.

"How bad are they?" Tommy asked, his voice laced with anxiety.

"Both of them could die within a matter of a few minutes," Takuya replied as he pulled a first-aid kit off his back. "And you're going to help me make sure that they don't."

Tommy felt his stomach churn. "Uh, okay. But I uh....I don't know what to do..."

Takuya opened up the kit and extracted a needle and thread. "You're about to learn, kid."

**Okay, I'm ending the chapter here. For one thing, I'm really exhausted. For another, I'm just tired of typing. So the next chapter will be coming soon (I just don't know when). Please review and let me know how you liked this chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13: The Clock Is Ticking

**This chapter is a bit short, but I'm really tired so yeah....**

**Oh, and the results of my poll are in! They are listed in order from the most votes to the least**

**Lemon (12 votes)**

**Humor/Parody (7 votes)**

**Action (6 votes)**

**Suspense (5 votes)**

**Humor/Non-parody (3 votes)**

**Horror and Supernatural both tied (2 votes)**

**So there you have it. I will write a lemon first and work my way down until I get to the last two. To decide from the last two, I'll either flip a coin or just pick the one that I think will be easier to write. Thanks so much for voting! ^_^ Not sure when I'll start writing the one-shots, as I'm really busy and kind of want to finish my other stories. But I should have time at some point to do them. **

**Dark Sanctuary**

**Chapter 13: The Clock Is Ticking**

Tommy stared at Kouji and Zoe, his stomach twisted with nausea. The needle glimmered in Takuya's hands, and the soldier was frowning at Zoe's wound, inspecting it. He knelt down beside the blond with a sigh.

"It's fucking deep," he muttered, looping the thread through the eye of the needle. "I've gotta slow the bleeding. Tommy, work on Kouji."

Tommy shakily took the first-aid kit off his back, unsure of himself. "Wha-what should I do?"

Takuya extracted a knife from his belt, then pulled a lighter out of his coat pocket. "Open your kit and get the alcohol out. Pour it over his burn to make sure that it doesn't get infected. Once you're done with that, wrap it up."

Kouji, barely conscious, lifted his head. "What? No, you're not pouring that shit on my arm."

Takuya glanced at the Kouji's burn, a look of disgust on his face. "Sorry, dude. But it's gotta be done."

"Why? The Spitter bitch didn't bite me. She just sprayed me with acid," he protested.

"Even so, it could still get infected like any other wound. Kouichi, hold you brother down while Tommy disinfects it," Takuya said.

Kouichi silently went to his brother's side, remaining silent as he did so. While Tommy searched through his kit to find his needed supplies, Takuya turned his concentration back to Zoe. The blond was out cold, a pool of blood now surrounding her head.

"Shit," Takuya cursed, flicking the lighter on.

He held the blade of the knife over the tiny flame, waiting for it to heat up enough. He could hear Kouji groan in agony as the alcohol seared his wound.

"Fuck!" Kouji cried out, now wide awake as he tried to jerk away.

However, Kouichi easily held down the younger twin, allowing Tommy to now wrap out the burn. Bloody alcohol seaped through the gauze, so the younger brunette added another layer. He then looked at the bloody gashes on Kouji's chest.

"Takuya, what do I do about his cuts?" He asked.

"Uh, what?" Takuya glanced over at him, putting his lighter away.

"Kouji's cuts. The ones on his chest," Tommy said. "What should I do about them?"

"Just...hang on for a minute. I need to stop Zoe's bleeding," he replied. "I've gotta cauterize this to make sure she doesn't get an infection."

He pressed the hot blade up against her punctured neck, causing her to moan in pain. A bit of steam floated away from her cut, and Takuya watched as the blood flow slowed down. After another minute or so, Zoe opened her eyes. She hissed through her teeth as the scalding metal burned at her tender flesh.

"I'm sorry, Zoe. But it has to be done," Takuya said, trying his best to hold her still. "And Tommy, if his cuts aren't deep, then clean them out and cover them. But if he's bleeding heavily, he'll have to be stitched up."

"Wait, what?!" Kouji demanded. "Hell no! I am _not_ going to be sewn up like a fucking stuffed animal!"

Tommy ignored his outburst and carefully looked at the three cuts. "Well, two of them aren't really bleeding, but the third one is."

"Is it gushing?" Takuya asked, pulling the knife away from the girl's neck.

"Uh, kind of," Tommy replied, unsure of himself. "It's not gushing, but it's still flowing out pretty heavily."

Takuya sat down and put Zoe's head on his lap. "Kouji, does it feel deep?"

"No," Kouji lied, not wanting anyone to go near him with a needle. "I-I'm fine!"

"Liar," the soldier said bluntly. "Tommy, stitch him up."

Kouji tried to sit up, only to be shoved back down by his brother. "No! Dammit, Kouichi! Let me up! I hate needles!"

Kouichi glared down at him, then spoke two simple words. "Shut up."

"Hey, wouldn't you know it. Kouichi can talk," Tommy said happily. "Good for you, Kouichi."

The short-haired twin did not reply, but continued to hold Kouji down. The young man with the bandana was definitely unhappy with this and continued to struggle against his brother's grip.

"Hope I do this right," Tommy mused as he pulled a needle out of the kit. "Haven't sewn anything since home economics in high school."

"Fuck...." Kouji's voice trailed off.

Takuya turned Zoe's head to the side, getting a clear view of her wound. The cut was about a half an inch deep and two inches long. While most of the blood had ceased, a thin line of it continued to trickle out. Takuya pinched the cut between his fingers, much to the discomfort of Zoe.

"What are you going to do?" She asked, terrified.

He looked down at her sympathetically. "I'm going to sew this up. It'll hurt, but when I'm done, you'll be happy that I did this."

"Shit." Zoe closed her eyes and waited. "Alright. Do it."

Takuya carefully but firmly slid the needle through the slit, causing Zoe to jerk.

"Oh, god...." She groaned, trying her best to keep still.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhh! Watch it with that needle, idiot!" Kouji screamed at Tommy. "Goddammit! This is not right! Not right, I'm tellin' ya!"

Tommy had already wiped all three cuts down with alcohol and was not in the process of stitching him up. A squirt of blood sprayed from Kouji's chest as Tommy sewed him up, splashing his brother in the face. Kouichi wiped it away, casting an annoyed glance at both Tommy and Kouji.

"Sorry," Tommy muttered. "Never claimed to be good at sewing."

"Kill me!" Kouji exclaimed.

Takuya smirked. "Is that an offer?"

"Fuck you, man," Kouji spat.

The brunette chuckled, continuing to stitch up Zoe's neck. He was about halfway down right now, and would only take another minute or to finish up.

"Dude, calm down," he quipped. "Zoe's handling it way better than you. And hers is right on the neck, which I think would be more painful."

"Either way, it still hurts like hell," Kouji grunted. "Tommy, are you almost done yet?"

"Not even close," Tommy said, pulling the thread tight.

The long-haired twin groaned. "Takuya, finish the job. Tommy's taking too damn long."

"No, I'm busy with Zoe," Takuya replied, his voice hinted with annoyance. "Maybe when I'm done."

"Aaaaaaaah! Dammit, Tommy!" Kouji yelled.

Tommy sighed. "Sorry, I'm trying. It's harder to push a needle through skin than through fabric..."

About a minute later, Takuya pushed the needle through Zoe's cut one last time. He pulled the string tight, then knotted as best as he could before cutting the excess off with his knife.

"Is it over?" Zoe winced, feeling the tightness of the stitching.

"Yeah, all I gotta do now is cover it with gauze," he told her.

Kouji glanced over at him. "And then you can finish Tommy's job. He's butchering me over here."

Tommy groaned in aggravation. "Fine, bleed to death, ya ungrateful bastard. I don't need this."

He walked away from the raven-haired young man, sitting down on one of the seats. Takuya rolled his eyes, carefully applying a guaze pad on Zoe's neck.

"Way to go," he said sarcastically to Kouji. "You made him quit."

"Can you blame me?!" Kouji exclaimed.

Takuya finished up and gently laid Zoe back down before rising to his feet. "Kouji, think about it. If I wasn't here to act as the medic, you would have to rely on someone else. Zoe couldn't have done it, and I don't know how well Kouichi can function with a tedious task like that. You would have to trust Tommy and let him do it. If not, then you could die, plain and simple."

"But it hurts!" Kouji griped. "He's doing it wrong."

Takuya inspected what Tommy had done so far and shook his head. "No, he actually did pretty decently. He closed the wound up enough and made sure he sewed you up in a straight line. They're spaced just right and pulled tight enough so that they won't open so easily. I think you owe Tommy an apology and you should let him finish what he started."

Kouji groaned. "Can't you do it, though? You're more skilled. Or are you too busy hovering over the blond, hoping that she'll go out on a date with you?"

Takuya glared at him, but turned slightly red. "Fuck you."

Zoe, who was not really aware of the conversation going on around her, gingerly touched her long locks. "Damn, I need a shower... My hair's all bloody and stiff."

"Maybe if we're lucky we'll come across a hose," Takuya told her. "Not to make a joke, but I'm sure it'll get the job done enough so that it won't be as bad."

"Yeah...." Zoe looked up at him and smiled. "You're cute....."

Kouji and Tommy snickered, exchanging glances as Tommy made his way back over to complete his stitching job on Kouji. Although Kouichi had remained silent, a tiny smirk played on the corners of his lips.

Takuya turned ever redder. "She's uh...delerious from the blood loss. Yup....um...."

"No, I'm not...." Zoe weakly sat up, flinching. "At least...I don't think so....maybe..."

"Okay, Kanbara," Kouji said with a laugh. "Maybe she is delerious. But maybe she isn't. Either way, the two of you better not sneak off into a dark corner for some alone time."

"Yeah, 'cause we have plenty of time to do that," Takuya replied sarcastically as he rolled his eyes again. "Right now the main objective is to...I dunno...get away in one piece!"

"And not infected," Tommy pointed out.

Takuya helped Zoe stand up, steadying her as she swayed. The blond groaned, holding onto the side of her head.

"Feel like shit," she mumbled. "How long will this last?"

"Here, take these," he said, handing her three pills.

Zoe took the medication, making a face as they went down her dry throat. "Ugh..."

"Hey, what about me?" Kouji whined. "Gimme four of those."

"Take three," Takuya told him. "We don't need you to be wandering around like a blumbering idiot."

Kouji snorted. "Nah, you take care of that role for all of us."

"I try," Takuya said cheerfully, aggravating the twin.

"You're a freak," Kouji muttered, swallowing the pills. "And I need a drink..."

Takuya sighed, pulling his heavy camoflauge coat off. "Yeah, same here. But unless you can magically make a vending machine appear, I think we're shit out of luck for now."

"Showing off for Zoe?" Kouji quipped with a chuckle.

"No, I'm sweating my ass off so I took my coat off. Got a problem with that?" Takuya raised an eyebrow.

Kouji snorted. "Nah, I just like fucking with you."

"Great," Takuya replied dully. "Not only do I have the privelege of being attacked by a bunch of crazies, but now I get the annoying comments from the under-medicated emo."

"I'm not emo! I'm a loner!"

The soldier smirked. "No, trust me. You're an emo."

"You don't know me," Kouji spat.

"Don't want to either. Just as long as we help each other get through this alive, we don't have to learn anything about each other." Takuya stood, tugging at this white shirt.

Zoe watched as it peeled away from his tanned skin, which was covered with a thin layer of perspiration. She could see the rippling muscles of his chest and arms clearly and almost wished she could see his abdomen.

_Knock it off, _she scolded herself._ We're kind of in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, for cryin' out loud. You should be thinking of a plan instead of hoping to get a glimpse of whats beneath his damn shirt...._

"So...what should we do?" Tommy asked after a long pause. "I mean, where should we go from here?"

Takuya shrugged. "I don't know. I have no idea where we are, so I can't really navigate us to a certain location. All we can do is wander around aimlessly and hope that we don't get killed in the process."

Kouji sat back and groaned. "Dude...we all know damn well that we're not getting out of here alive."

"Or we'll get infected," Zoe said dully. "Sooner or later, one of us won't be fast enough to stop them..."

"Don't talk like that," Takuya replied firmly. "We're going to get away. I refuse to let anything happen to any of you. Even Kouji, no matter how much of a pain in the ass he is."

"Gee, thanks," Kouji scoffed.

The brunette smirked. "No problem."

"Just promise me one thing." Zoe looked at Takuya with the utmost seriousness. "I can't speak for the other guys, but if I get infected, just shoot me."

"Zoe-"

The blond cut him off. "Takuya. I don't want to be one of them."

"But Kouichi is," Kouji pointed.

"Kouichi and I are different," she argued. "I'm very impressed that he not only deals with it, but he managed to hold onto his humanity. I don't think I could do the same."

Takuya looked at her for a moment, then sighed. "When the time comes, we'll worry about it then. But I won't deny you your request."

"Yeah....I'll probably go with Zoe on that one," Tommy said meekly. "I don't know if I could do the same as Kouichi."

"We'll see how it goes." Kouji adjusted his bandana. "Who knows? Maybe we'll all turn out like Kouichi and be able to cope with it. You never know."

Takuya reloaded his rifle, a grim expression on his face. "We should get going soon. I don't hear anyone banging on the outside, but still....I don't want to stick around."

"Good idea," Tommy commented, loading his shotgun with shells.

"Are the two of you okay to go out there?" Takuya asked Zoe and Kouji.

Zoe sighed, checking her pistols. "Yeah, I'm okay. But even if I wasn't, it's not like we have much of a choice."

"Same here," Kouji added. "If we stay here, we'll get ripped to shreds."

"Okay then." Takuya shrugged his coat back on. "We'll go in a minute."

Zoe felt her crimson-stained hair with disgust. "Damn, I feel gross... But I guess I've got bigger things to worry about than when I'll be able to shower next."

"You don't look half bad," Takuya said with half-smile. "I still think you look pretty good."

The blond turned red, almost as red as her jacket. "Just...shut up and let's go."

"What? You think that I'm cute, so what's the problem?" He flashed her a smile.

Zoe glared at him, then looked away. "N-no, I don't! I was out of it for a minute and needed to get my head cleared. Now pipe down already and let's get the hell out of here."

"You heard the girl," Takuya told everyone, an amused look on his face. "C'mon."

**Okay, so there was no information about their backrounds this time. But there will be in a few chapters. Maybe chapter 16 ir 17. But, I hope you guys liked the chapter and the Takuminess ;) And if you didn't get why I called this chapter 'The Clock is Ticking' I just needed a title. The clock is ticking to make sure that Kouji and Zoe didn't die, okay?! Okay! Please review and see ya later!**


	14. Chapter 14: The Church

**Finally! After...four...? Four months of not updating, I have finally, well, updated it. Anyway, I hope you like it. I have already decided to cut things a bit short, since I don't want to work on this story for much longer. I enjoy doing it, but I basically write the same thing in each chapter. So I'm going to finish this campaign as if it were the last. I have four more chapters coming after this one, so I hope you like it. ^_^**

**Dark Sanctuary**

_**Campaign 2: Death Toll- Part 3**_

**Chapter 14: The Church**

Since the Survivors had entered through the caboose of the train, which was now being mauled by a horde of the infected, the safest way out would be through the front of the train.

"Everyone load up," Takuya commanded them as he led them through the train cars. "I don't know how long it'll take for us to find more ammo."

"Where are we heading anyway?" Tommy asked.

Takuya shrugged. "Seeing how I don't know the area, I'm not sure. We just have to keep moving until we find a safe location."

Zoe sighed, ignoring the throbbing in her now stitched-up neck. "I'm not looking forward to this..."

"Me neither," Kouji mumbled as they reached the front of the train. "I hate zombies...

"They're not zombies," Takuya pointed out. "I keep telling you this."

Kouji rolled his eyes. "Fine! Then I hate crazy batshit people who want to eat my brains! Happy now, you bastard?"

"Ecstatic," the brunette replied with a smirk as he gazed out the window. "Okay...I don't see anyone out here... So move quickly but be careful."

The others nodded, waiting as he pried the door open. After a moment, it finally slid to the side, letting the group run out into the open. Up ahead, there was a trainyard, and a small shed was in view.

"Come on, let's go," Takuya told them as he clutched his assault rifle tightly. "Let's go into the shed and see if there's any ammo in there. We're running dangerously low."

"So basically if we don't find any, we're potentially screwed, right?" Kouji asked flatly.

"Pretty much," the soldier replied as he cautiously led the way. "So let's just hope for the best, okay?"

He led the other four towards the shed, cursing under his breath as a horde of the infected ran out of the shadows. Takuya fired his gun, getting as many head-shots as he could. Kouji and Tommy shot at the group with their shotguns, while Zoe took them down with her pistols, trying their best to kill the savages as quickly as possible. Kouichi slashed at the infected, breaking some of their necks in the process as well. They jogged closer towards the shed as they continued to fire, running over the train tracks.

"I hate train tracks," Kouji muttered, shooting an infected woman through the eye.

"What don't you hate?" Takuya asked with a smirk.

The raven-haired man throught for a moment. "Well, I already told you that I don't hate bandanas."

After finishing off the horde, the five of them ran into the shed in hopes of finding ammo. They were fortunate enough to find quite a bit of supplies, including bullets, a first-aid kit, another bottle of pain pills, and a few pipe bombs.

"Jackpot," Tommy said happily, gathering up some of the shotgun shells.

"Hopefully this will hold us up long enough by the time we can find more," Zoe added, reloading her pistols. "It all depends on how many of those bastards we run into."

Takuya chuckled. "And we know how they like to hang out in huge groups."

"They need to be more lonerish," Kouji grumbled. "Like me."

"Nah, you're just an emo." Takuya clipped two of the bombs onto his belt.

Kouji rolled his eyes. "Fuck you..."

"Hey, there's a door right here." Zoe gestured to the corner of the room. "Do you think we should go through it or just book it?"

"Always helps to look," Takuya said, firing a single shot through the door.

At the same moment, a green spray of liquid splattered through the door. Luckily for them, everyone had been standing too far back to be sprayed with the disgusting bile.

"Looks like I killed a Boomer." The brunette walked over to the door and peered through the hole. "Yup, I definitely killed one."

He opened the door, revealing it to be a single room with no other entrances. It seemed to be bare of any important items, so Takuya simply closed it with a shrug.

"Nothing useful in there?" Tommy asked.

Before he could answer, Kouichi's head jerked in the direction that led them back outside. His eyes narrowed and he let out a growl.

"Based on the way Kouichi's acting, I'm going to assume that we're about to have company," Kouji said with a sigh.

No sooner had the words left his mouth, a swarm of in the infected barreled into the room.

"I just had to open my friggen trap," Kouji muttered, aiming his shotgun.

Takuya and the others fired a few shots, trying their hardest to take down the oncoming horde. Blood and bits of bone sprayed in every direction, leaving behind bullet-filled corpses. Kouichi viciously mauled at the infected within his range, pouncing on them and tearing chunks of their flesh off.

"Avoiding them is impossible," Zoe said quietly, shooting a woman through the eye. "Until we get out of this godforsaken area, we're going to be attacked every which way."

"Aaaah!" Tommy shot one of the infected who had run over too close for his liking. "I wanna get outta here!"

Takuya chuckled and the bodies began to pile up. "You and me both, kid."

About a minute or so later, the large group had been annihilated, leaving behind bloody and crumpled bodies. Takuya led the Survivors back outside, making his way to a metal fire escape.

"Why are we going up there?" Kouji asked, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

"Well, unless you want more company, we'll be a bit safer up here," the soldier told him, motioning their surroundings with his rifle.

"I hate fire escapes," Kouji mumbled, but followed nonetheless.

Kouichi pounced ahead of them, not needing the steps to reach the landing. Takuya shot over the railings of the escape as he ran up the steps, hearing the sounds of numerous gunshots from the others. Once they had all reached the landing, they discovered that ended abruptly and the only way to get off was by jumping down.

"Well...that was pointless," Takuya said sheepishly as he plummeted down to the ground.

"Way to go, Kanbara," Kouji laughed.

Tommy snorted. "Hey, we're bound to run into a few dead-ends every now and again."

He and Kouichi were able to jump down easily enough, but Kouji and Zoe needed a bit of assistance with their landings due to their injuries.

"I got ya, Kouji!" Tommy shouted up to the bandana-wearing twin.

"You better," Kouji mumbled, before leaping downward.

Tommy grabbed hold of him, but needed Kouichi's help to keep himself and Kouji crashing into the ground. Kouichi solved the problem by grabbing his brother's jacket and roughly pulling him back before he slammed into the younger boy. Zoe managed to jump down the escape well enough, but needed Takuya to keep her steady as she landed.

"You guys alright?" Takuya asked, glancing at everyone.

"Yeah." Kouichi was the only one who had not answered vocally.

Tommy gazed around their surroundings. "Where should we go now?"

Before Takuya could answer, Zoe pointed something out. "Hey, there's a boardwalk over there."

"Then it looks like we're going to the boardwalk," Takuya said with a crooked smile. "Get there as fast as you can before our little, flesh-eating friends decide to join us."

The five of them rushed to the boardwalk, looking around frantically to make sure the coast was clear. Just as they neared the halfway point, Tommy cried out in surprise. Everyone turned to see a large, disgusting tongue wrapped around Tommy's waist, trying to drag him into the shadows. They rushed over to free him, Kouichi getting to him first. He viciously yanked the tongue away from the young man, ripping it in the process. A squeal was heard, undeniably belonging to the injured Smoker.

"Should we look for the bastard?" Kouji asked.

"Fuck it, just get to the boardwalk," Takuya commanded. "I hear another horde coming."

Zoe sighed, rolling her eyes. "Lovely..."

The Survivors sprinted the rest of the way to the boardwalk just as the swarm of infected ambled from the shadows. They began to shoot over the broken railings as the mob clumsily hurried over, taking down as many as possible. Blood and organs splattered onto the pavement, leaving behind mutilated corpses. As they crossed the boardwalk, Takuya noticed a cannister of gasonline and grabbed it.

"What the hell are you doing with that?" Kouji inquired.

"Watch." Takuya quickly removed the cap, halting everyone as the infected ran up to the boardwalk.

Tommy stared at the swarm in terror. "Why did we stop? They're going to kill us!"

"Just wait!" Takuya shouted, holding the cannister ready.

The horde was only a few yards away, many of them mashing their teeth together hungrily. Everyone aimed their guns, ready to fire. A moment later, Takuya splashed the infected with the gasoline, soaking them. He then motioned the others to run and took a mototiv cocktail from his belt. Running with the others, he tossed it behind his back at the drenched swarm.

"Keep fucking running!" he yelled, nearing the end of the boardwalk with everyone.

A second later, there was a large explosion, and upon glancing back, they saw the fiery bodies of the infected group strewn about. The ones who hadn't been blown to bits were running around frantically, completely covered in flames. However, before any of them could catch up to the Survivors, they collapsed to the ground as their bodies succumbed to the fire.

"And that is how to get rid of a group of infected people in the span of five seconds," Takuya said proudly.

"Let me write that one down in my notebook," Tomm quipped. "For a minute, I thought you were leading us into a suicide."

Kouji snorted. "Like hell I'm letting this moron drag me down like that."

"I don't think Takuya would do anything like that unless he absolutely knew what he was doing," Zoe quietly commented.

"Well, that's no surprise coming from you," Kouji said dryly.

Zoe's eyes narrowed as the five of them jogged down the seemingly-deserted road. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it's no surprise that the two of you want to get into each other's pants," he remarked.

"Oh, shut up!" Takuya and Zoe exclaimed unanimously, both of them blushing slightly.

For the next few minutes, the five of them continued to sprint down the path, reloading as they did so. Other than the stray infected person every now and again, the area was relatively quiet. However, it seemed that from every shadow, there was the sound of someone approaching.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Tommy said quietly.

"Me, too. Just keep going until you see someone pop out," Takuya advised.

They reached a burning school bus, the large vehicle completely filled with fire. Just as they passed it, a horde ambled out from every direction, completely surrounding them.

"Ah, fuck," Takuya growled, immediately firing at them. "Everyone shoot in different directions so that we can cover each other!"

The sounds of gunfire filled their ears as they frantically shot at the bloodthirsty group. Amongst the group was a Hunter, who Kouichi decided to take care of. He slashed at the hooded man's face, then doved right into him to knock him off balance. The others fired at the infected humans, trying their best to keep them at bay.

"Shit, there are too many of them!" Kouji shouted above the gunfire. "How the fuck are supposed to kill them all?"

"We've done it before! We can do it again!" Takuya shot an infected woman in the head, splattering her brains onto the pavement. "Just try to get as many head-shots as possible! It's the fastest way to kill them!"

Kouji snorted and rolled his eyes. "Well, no shit, Sherlock! I could've told you that!"

"Then I don't see what the problem is!" Takuya ducked out of the way as a man tried to slash at him, before smacking him with the butt of his rifle and shooting him through the eye.

Tommy and Zoe feverishly shot at the infected coming from their sides, feeling a bit more relieved as the horde died down. The Hunter that Kouichi had been fighting was viciously thrown up a tree seconds later, his larynx torn out. After several more bullets and squirts of blood, the horde had finally been taken down.

Everyone tiredly looked at each other, panting for breath as they reloaded again.

"I'm so exhausted," Kouji mumbled. "I hope we find a safe room soon."

The others nodded in agreement, before continuing their walk down the road. After a few minutes, Zoe stopped dead in her tracks and excitedly grabbed hold of Takuya's arm.

"Guys, look over there!" she said, a bit of relief in her voice.

The guys looked in direction she had been referring to, immediately feeling relieved as well. In the distance, there was an old house and a church, therefore indicating that either one could contain a safe room.

"Then let's get there as soon as possible." Takuya began to lead them to the buildings as quickly as he could, his face a bit red from when Zoe had grabbed him.

Along the way, they passed an abandoned ambulance, being fortunate enough to find a first-aid kit inside. They then hurried to the house, as it was closer to them than the church. The five of them took a quick scan through the deserted building, though none of the rooms inside seemed safe enough for them to take refuge in. However, they still managed to collect more ammunition, molotiv cocktails, another first-aid kit, and pain pills.

"I think someone's trying tell us something," Kouji said with a smirk as he gathered the bottle of pills.

"Yeah, if we don't die from the infected, we're going to overdose," Takuya replied.

Tommy and Kouichi were about to distribute the correct ammo to everyone when, Zoe rushed over to them.

"Hey, look what I found," she said, showing what she was carrying in her arms. "Thought these might be useful to us."

Takuya's eyes widened as he realized what they were. "It's a sniper rifle and a combat shotgun! Where the fuck did you find these?"

"Uh...I saw them hanging up in the living room," she replied, her eyes wide. "Should I have left them?"

"Are you kidding? These are going to be a big help," he said happily. "Since you and Tommy haven't had the chance to get a new weapon, you two can have them."

However, Tommy shook his head. "No, I'm comfortable using what I have. I'm not in the mood trying to get the hang of something new and getting slaughtered halfway through."

"I'm with him on this one," Zoe added. "I'm not screwing around with those either."

Takuya shrugged, then allowed Kouji to pick the weapon of his choice. Kouji had decided on the combat shotgun, taking the opportunity to load it.

"Wish you had this one?" he asked Takuya teasingly.

"Eh, not really. I think that sniper rifles are better," the brunette replied, stuffing ammunition into his new gun. "They're good up close and far away, and are powerful enough to kill those infected bastards in one hit."

Kouji did a double-take. "Wait, what? Eh, dammit..."

"Well, let's get going to the church," Takuya said after a moment. "I just hope that there's a safe room in there."

The five of them hurried to the abandoned church as fast as they could, shooting a stray infected human every now and again. Once they finally reached their destination, Takuya cautiously opened the door, ignoring the grafitti on the outside of the building.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Kouji muttered.

"I think we all do," the brunette replied. "But this is our last hope for a safe room. I don't know how long it'll take before we come across another building."

He then led everyone inside, all of them looking around nervously. They made their way into a different room, which was the main service room. However, the room was bare except for the alter and the spray painted grafitti on the walls. The wooden ceiling and walls were beginning to crumble and decay a bit, but still seemed durable enough to hold the building up.

"What the fuck happened here?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know..." Takuya noticed a heavy door on one side of the room. "Hey, that looks a safe room. Let's go check it out."

Yet, just as they neared the door, the sound of a person on the other side filled their ears, sending a chill up their spines.

"Better safe than sorry...better safe than sorry...better safe than sorry..."

"Uh, excuse me?" Takuya knocked on the door. "Who's in there?"

The person didn't answer, but simply kept on talking to himself. "They told me they weren't infected...they told me they weren't infected..."

"Hello?" Zoe softly called. "Are you okay in there?"

"Better safe than sorry...better safe than sorry...better safe than sorry...better safe than sorry...better safe than sorry...better safe than sorry..." The delusional man inside kept repeating the same phrase over and over again. "Better safe than sorry...better safe than sorry..."

"What the fuck?" Kouji muttered, feeling uneasy.

Kouichi's eyes had narrowed into slits, and he tried to pull the door open. It refused to budge, however.

"Who's there?" the man on the other side suddenly asked, his voice filled with anxiety. "Who's out there? Stay away from me!"

"Hey, calm down," Takuya told him. "We're survivors of this fucking pandemic. We just came here to-"

"You're lying!" the man shot back. "You're one of them! One of the infected. They told me that they weren't infected...but they were...THEY WERE!"

The others jumped at the harshness of his voice, before hearing him let out a manical laugh. They exchanged glances, getting their guns ready in case something happened.

"I won't be fooled a second time. I won't be!" From inside the room, a loud bell was suddenly being rung by the crazed man. "Ding dong! Ding dong! It's feeding time! Hahahahahaha! Ding dong!"

"Oh, shit," Takuya grunted, knowing what was to come. "Well, get your guns ready..."

Seconds later, a large horde of the infected barreled through the door, their clothes and skin stained with blood. Takuya and the others immediately fired at the swarm, spraying blood, bits of bone, and destroyed organs everywhere. There were several dozen of the zombie-like humans, all of them determined to slaughter the Survivors.

"Fuck! There are so many of them!" Tommy cried out above the gunfire.

Kouichi was leaping from wall to wall, snapping the necks of the infected as he went back and forth. He gouged out the eyes of many of them, and ripped open some of their throats. His hands were soon coated in a fresh layer of blood, which dripped onto the floor with each swipe he made at them. The bell continued to ring loudly, drawing more and more of the infected into the church.

"Fucking asshole!" Kouji shouted, referring to the man in the safe room. "Stop it off, you douchebag! Before I rip your head off!"

"Ding dong! Ding dong! Better safe than sorry! Ding dong! Ding dong!" the man continued to yell out. "They won't get me this time!"

Zoe jumped away at one of the infected that had lunged at her, barely missing his grimy teeth. Takuya smacked the diseased man with the butt of his rifle, then blew his head off. The blond flashed him a grateful smile, then resumed her shooting.

Just then, the door to the safe room burst open, and a Boomer waddled out. His mouth was filled with green bile, and he spit it across the room seconds later.

"Dammit!" Takuya jumped away as it sprayed the wall. "That guy is a Boomer?"

He began to shoot at him feverishly, realizing that the bloated man was not as easily taken down as the previous Boomers that had encountered. While the others continued to shoot at the commonly infected, he concentrated on the Boomer, who was already beginning to fill his mouth with yet another load of bile. The brunette shot him in the head, then heard a loud screech. Moving quickly, the Boomer ran back into the safe room, shutting the door behind him.

"How many of these guys are there?" Tommy reloaded, his fingers trembling as he went as fast as he could. "They keep coming!"

"Ding dong! Ding dong!" the man inside the safe room called out again as he rang the bell. "Feeding time!"

Zoe groaned in dismay, her face furrowed in worry as the number of infected humans seemed to rise. It seemed that with every person they shot, two more ran into the room to take their place.

"We gotta get that guy to stop ringing that fucking bell!" she shouted above the loud gunfire. "These bastards won't stop coming until he stops!"

"How?" Kouji asked, shooting a woman through her open mouth. "He went back inside the damn room!"

Zoe killed two of the infected at once, hitting them each in the face. "We're just gonna have to hope that he comes out again! When he does, try to shoot him as many times as you can before you have to divert your attention back onto these regular guys!"

"She's right!" Takuya told them. "That's exactly what we gotta do! This fucker needs to die, and soon for that matter!"

To their luck, the door to the safe room swung open yet again, this time a Smoker running out of it. The Smoker's tongue shot across the room and wrapped around Kouichi's ankle. Kouichi was almost dragged over to the disfigured infected man, but easily tore his leg free by ripping the tongue right out of the Smoker's mouth. While he did this, the others took as many shots at him as they could, hoping to take him down once and for all. Yet, once again, the man went back inside the safe room, resuming the bell ringing.

"Ding dong! Ding dong! Better safe than sorry!" he bellowed, laughing hysterically as he did so. "Ding dong!"

"Jeez! I'm really getting pissed off!" Takuya quickly reloaded as Zoe covered for him.

After several more shots at the horde, the number finally seemed to be dwindling, despite the deafening bell ringing. They were all soaked with blood and pieces of flesh that had come from the bodies.

"I hope this ends soon," Tommy said nervously. "We're going to run out of ammo at this rate, and we just stocked up!"

The door to the safe room opened one last time, this time a Hunter emerging. He snarled at the group and lunged at them, only to be knocked away by Kouichi.

"What the fuck is going on? Is this guy like a shape-shifter or something?" Kouji asked, puzzled. "He's the only one in that room, but he keeps coming out as a different infected person."

"The pandemic must've had a really weird effect on him. Seems like he transforms into several different forms!" Takuya shouted over the gunfire. "Just shoot him until he's dead!"

Finally, after several bullets and heart-pounding seconds, the infected, including the Hunter, had been killed. With a tired sigh, the Survivors ran into the safe room, immediately locking the door behind them.

"Oh my god..." Zoe sank down, her energy drained. "That sucked..."

"You're telling me," Takuya mumbled as he shook his head in annoyance. "Fucking crazy bastard..."

Kouji rubbed the sweat from his forehead. "I'm just glad that he's dead...finally..."

"Now all we gotta do is make it to the next area," Tommy said, his voice tinted with dread.

**Okay, this chapter is finally finished. I hope you liked it, so please review. ^_^**


	15. Chapter 15: The Town

**Since I have absolutely nothing interesting to say, here is the next chapter. Enjoy.**

**Dark Sanctuary**

_**Campaign 2: Death Toll- Part 4**_

**Chapter 4: The Town**

After about ten minutes of resting, the Survivors had cleaned up their wounds a bit and reloaded their weapons.

"We should get going," Takuya murmured.

Kouji sighed. "I'm so fucking tired, though... Can't we just rest for the night?"

"It's too dangerous to stay in the church," the soldier replied.

More of the infected had since flooded the crumbling building, trying their best to break down the safe room door. As exhausted as everyone was, even Kouichi, they all knew that they had no choice but to leave.

"Hopefully we can rest in the next safe room," Zoe said with a yawn. "And maybe with any luck there'll be a sink where I can wash all of this blood out of my hair..."

Tommy jumped as the infected continued to bang on the door. "I don't care what it has, let's just get out of here."

Located in the safe room was a large, metal door that had been barred off. The room that it led to was small and empty, containing only a window. Takuya heaved the bar off and flung it aside, then pushed the door open. He led the others into the small room and opened the window, climbing out onto the ledge that brought them outside. From below, several infected humans were lurking around, swaying unsteadily. Takuya shot at the them while the others joined him on the ledge, then all of them dropped down to the ground.

"Well, this is going to be a fucking blast," Kouji said sarcastically as he fired at the infected.

"It always is," Tommy added with a wry smirk.

Kouichi leapt from one zombie-like person to another, tearing their throats out in the process. Takuya led the group down the street as they all continued to fire, coming up to a large truck seconds later. Inside the truck, there were six infected men ready to jump at them. Takuya and Zoe shot them down while the other three took care of the surrounding enemies.

"Come on, this way! We don't wanna get ambushed!" Takuya yelled above the gunfire.

The others complied willingly, following him down the road towards an alley. They shot at a few infected along the way, though the area seemed relatively deserted. The alley led them into a courtyard, where they came up to a large building containing several storage rooms.

"I think we should check those out to see if we can find any ammo," Kouji said.

"Yeah, but we shouldn't stay too long," Takuya replied, scanning their surroundings. "It seems to be a bit too quiet around here, and I'm not exactly liking it..."

The Survivors headed into one of the storage rooms, finding ammunition, pipe bombs, and molotiv cocktails. They gathered the items up, reloading their guns hurriedly. Two infected humans stumbled into the room, only to have their heads blown off immediately after.

"I think we better go." Zoe aimed her pistols towards the doorway, then fired as another infected person ambled in.

Without a word, the five of them ran out of the building and down the road, seeing several more of the infected in the distance. As they drew closer, they passed many run-down buildings, most of them looking as though they were a century old due to the damages since the epidemic. The zombie-like savages lunged at them just as the gunfire began again, riddling them with bullets. Amongst the horde were a Jockey and a Spitter.

"Oh, fuck," Tommy muttered as he aimed at the Jockey. "Those things give me nightmares."

The Jockey laughed hysterically, hopping closer to the Survivors before Tommy shot at him. While he concentrated on taking down the insane infected man, Kouji shot at the Spitter.

"You're not spraying me with that acid, you bitch!" he cried out as he shot her through the head. "See! I told ya!"

However, while her head had been shot, a tiny bit of acid had spurted out near Kouji. A tiny drop of it landed on his shirt, causing him to cry out in annoyance as it burnt a tiny hole.

"Ah, goddammit!" he exclaimed.

Tommy frantically shot at the Jockey, unable to get a clear shot as the infected man hopped towards him in a zig-zag pattern. With a manical laugh, the Jockey bounced at Tommy, intending to jump onto his back. Yet at the last second, Tommy managed to shoot him direcly in the face with his shotgun, destroying it. The Jockey collapsed to the ground in a bloody heap while Takuya and Zoe continued to shoot at the other infected humans. Once they had taken down the last one, Takuya motioned for everyone to follow him.

"Come on, this way," he told them.

The others followed him down the the road and approached a street corner where a news van had been parked. There were a few more storage rooms nearby, indicating that there could be useful items around.

"We'll take a quick look, but I don't wanna stay long," Takuya said.

"Unless we want to get ambushed," Tommy added with a sigh.

The five of them checked only one of the rooms, being fortunate enough to find a bit of ammunition. Once it had been gathered and distributed, they headed back outside on the street.

"Shit! I see them coming!" Kouji exclaimed. "Where should we go?"

"This way," Takuya replied. "Around the building. If we go any other way we could run into a horde of them."

They ran to the corner of the building, shooting a few of the infected along the way. Just as they reached a courtyard, an entire swarm of them were running out of the shadows.

"Yeah, going this way didn't cause us to run into a horde of them," Kouji snapped, firing at the group.

"Hey, give him a break," Zoe shot back. "He's not a psychic, so it's not like he knows where they're all hanging out."

Takuya smirked as he fired his sniper rifle at the infected, getting as many head-shots as possible. "See? Zoe knows what she's talking about."

At the same moment, a Tank ambled in from the street, catching the Survivors off guard. The behemoth swung his huge arms, hitting Takuya and Kouji from the force. The two of them slammed into the building, groaning from the impact.

"Takuya!" Zoe cried out. "Kouji!"

She jumped out of the way as the Tank tried to hit her, barely missing his giant arm. She shot at his face, then heard a yell coming from Tommy. The boy had been the only one shooting at the horde, which was proving to be extremely difficult as the number of them grew. Kouichi began to attack them as quickly as possible, but was still having trouble keeping them at bay as well. With Takuya and Kouji reeling from the shock, she couldn't bring herself to just leave Tommy and Kouichi to fend for themselves while she checked on the other two.

"Guys! Get up!" she called to Takuya and Kouji. "Shit!"

Zoe dodged another blow from the Tank, and she attempted to shoot him through the eye. She succeeded, partially blinding him. As much as she wanted to take him down at that very moment, Tommy was about to be overcome by the horde, so she ran to assist him.

"There are too many of them," he told her, his voice filled with worry.

A second later, the Tank grabbed Tommy and swung him into the building, causing him to crash through a window. The hulking infected man was about to do the same to Zoe, but missed as Kouichi grabbed her and jumped away.

"Tommy!" Zoe cried out, afraid of how injured he was. "Takuya! Kouji! We need you to get up!"

Groaning, Takuya and Kouji finally began to heave themselves up, their clothes smeared with a bit more blood. Kouichi set Zoe back down and jumped onto the Tank's shoulders, trying to tear his other eye out.

"Are you guys okay?" Zoe asked as she rushed over to the other two. "Tommy just crashed through that window so one of us has to get him."

"I'll do it," Kouji replied sluggishly as he climbed through the window.

Zoe turned back around and resumed her shooting. She took down several of the infected and noticed as Kouichi tore the Tank's remaining eye out. He then slashed his neck, causing his jugular vein to be lacerated. Blood squirted in every direction, and the Hunter jumped back down as the Tank collapsed. Takuya joined Zoe in her effort to fend off the horde, still a bit disoriented.

After another minute or so, they had finally finished off the last of the swarm, just as Kouji assisted Tommy back out of the building. Takuya fell to his knees, dropping his rifle.

"Takuya, are you okay?" Zoe dropped to her knees in front of him, then glanced over at Kouji. "How's Tommy?"

"I'm fine," Tommy answered before Kouji could. "Just a bit scratched up."

The blond turned her attention back to Takuya, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Are you going to be alright?"

Takuya flashed her a smile. "Yeah, I'll be fine... Just a bit dazed now..."

He grabbed his gun and heaved himself up with Zoe's assistance, trying to shake his head to clear it. Takuya then wordlessly led them inside a nearby building, though they were unable to find anything useful. The five of them exited through a different door that brought them into second courtyard.

"I see an open window in that building," Takuya told them. "Let's get up there and hopefully avoid the hordes in the street."

"And how the fuck are we going to manage that one?" Kouji scoffed.

The soldier ran onto the hood of a nearby van, hopping onto the roof of it. From there, he jumped over to a ledge that led to the building, reaching the window seconds later.

"Show-off," Kouji muttered.

Kouichi leapt up easily, while the other three used Takuya's tactic to reach the window. They climbed into the office building, their guns aimed and ready to go.

"Alright...I think we should go to the other side of the building and see how mobbed it is outside," Takuya said after a moment. "Hopefully it won't be as crowded."

"Or hopefully we find a safe room soon," Zoe added with a sigh. "But I doubt that we'll get to one just yet. That would be too easy for us."

Tommy chuckled. "I'd have to agree with you on that one."

Kouji glanced at his twin brother, who stood there expressionless. With a sigh, he diverted his attention away from Kouichi, realizing that the chances of Kouichi acting like his old self again would be slim to none. _But I should be grateful that he's alive in the first place,_ he thought to himself.

He and the others headed through the office building, making their way over to a large meeting room. Gazing out the through the windows, they could see a group of the infected outside.

"Well, we might as well get out through here," Takuya speculated. "It's better than running into a horde while trying to find an alternative exit."

The brunette took a pipe bomb from his belt and opened one of the windows, tossing it down to the infected. It detonated seconds later, wiping out at least half the group. He then climbed out of the building and onto a ledge, shooting down at the remaining zombie-like enemies.

"Shit! Everyone get out!" Kouji shouted, trying to usher the others out the window as quickly as possible. "We've got company!"

"Dammit!" Zoe climbed out through the window to join Takuya, followed by Tommy.

Kouji was about to shoot at the oncoming swarm inside the building, when his brother hurriedly ushered him out the window instead. Kouichi followed him out a moment later, climbing onto the side of the building to escape their reaching hands through the window. He then leapt down to the ground just as the others lowered themselves down as well, until all five of them were on the street once again.

"Hey, there's a fucking table in the middle of the road," Kouji commented, drawing closer to the said-object. "What kind of idiot puts a table in the fucking street like this?"

"Well, Kouji, ever since that epidemic, people aren't exactly in their right minds anymore," Takuya said dryly.

Kouji rolled his eyes. "Fuck you... Well, at least there's ammo on it."

"Good, because we're going to need it." Zoe loaded her pistols with a sigh. "And right now for that matter."

"Oh, great...another horde," Takuya grumbled. "This is fucking pissing me off..."

The horde drew closer, only to be immediately attacked and gunned down by the Survivors. As Takuya and the others shot at the swarm, they quickly headed down the road, not wanting to get caught up in that area. As they neared an alley, they were all suddenly grabbed by Smokers.

"Fuck!" Kouji fired his combat shotgun at the Smoker that had wrapped its tongue around his waist. "Let me go!"

The Smoker squealed, releasing him a second later. The others managed to fight off the remaining Smokers by shooting at them. However, one of them wrenched Zoe's pistols away from her, rendering her defenseless.

"You bastard!" she shouted at it angrily. "Dammit...now what am I gonna do?"

Takuya handed her a pipe bomb. "Hang onto this for now until we come across another gun. Just stay behind me, okay?"

Zoe nodded solemnly, hating the fact that she needed to rely on someone for protection. Without a word, she followed Takuya down a tunnel, along with the others. A Witch stumbled out, trying to impale them with her long claws. Yet her head was blown right off from Takuya's sniper rifle.

"Hey, let's go this way," Tommy said. "Around the building."

"I hope this ends soon," Kouji muttered. "I'm seriously on the verge of passing the fuck out..."

The five of them made their way around the building, making a surprising discovery along the way. Littered on another wooden table, was a machine gun and several rounds of ammunition.

"Well, Zoe, it looks like you're in luck," Takuya said with a grin. "That didn't take long, now did it?"

"Nope, guess not." The blond quickly loaded it while the guys took the remaining bullets that went to their guns.

Takuya reloaded his rifle. "But do you know how to use it?"

No sooner were the words out of this mouth, when Zoe pulled the trigger. Takuya spun around to see an infected woman collapsing to the ground, her face filled with several bullet holes.

"Does that answer your question?" Zoe asked with a half-smile.

"Yup," Takuya replied, returning the smile.

Kouji snorted. "Okay, enough of 'Happy Hour'. Let's the get the hell outta here. I suggest that we go up those stairs right there."

"Wow, for once you have an idea," the brunette quipped. "I'm impressed."

"Eh, shut up..." Kouji mumbled.

They sprinted up the stairs, hoping that they could at least avoid the infected for a few minutes. Once they had reached the landing, the five of them headed down the hallway, coming up to a large window. Of course, there were a few infected men and women lurking around, all of them clumsily making their way over to the Survivors. However, instead of shooting them down, Takuya and the others simply climbed out of the window, where a wooden plank stretched from that building to the one right next to it. All of them except Kouichi walked across it, while the Hunter simply jumped over to the other side.

"Damn, I wish I had Kouichi's abilities," Tommy commented as they reached the next building. "It would make things way easier..."

"I think I see a safe room!" Zoe suddenly exclaimed. "Over that fence right there!"

Kouji squinted and looked at the door. "I hope it's strong enought to be considered a safe room..."

"Only one way to find out," Takuya replied.

In order to get over the fence, the five of them were required to jump over to the next building and then climb down. Since the spaces between the buildings were only a short distance, all of them made it over without much difficulty. They then climbed back down and ended up in a small courtyard. A few of the infected were lurking around, yet they were all shot down before they could pose as a greater threat.

"Everyone inside," Takuya commanded them as he pulled the door open. "Now!"

After the other four had entered the small building, Takuya joined them and locked the door behind him. He then pulled his bloody coat off and cast it aside, his body glistening with sweat. After checking the premises, the building contained two separate rooms with no other exits. There were also no windows for the infected to break through in order to attack them. A snack and soda machine were against the wall, and there was also a large sink, four couches, two recliners, and a television set. The building seemed to be a private breakroom for one of the larger companies.

"Okay, I think we should rest up for a few hours," Takuya said tiredly. "We all need it. If we keep going around like this, we'll be too tired to concentrate and will probably be killed."

"I say we just stay here," Kouji said with a smirk. "This is the nicest safe room we've been to. I really don't feel like going back out there."

"None of us do, but we'll have to eventually," Zoe told him. "If not, then the infected could eventually break the walls down and attack us that way."

Tommy went to the snack machine and smashed it open, taking out several packets of junk food. "We better eat something to get our strength back up as well."

Takuya took a package of cookies. "Yeah...we're going to need it..."

**Okay, the next chapter will answer ALL of the questions and mysteries that haven't been revealed yet. Well, about everyone's pasts I should say. Also, the next chapter will contain a lemon scene, so either be prepared or skip over it when you get to it. Well, I hope you liked the chapter, so let me know. I tried to get as much detail as I could without making the chapter freakishly long, so hopefully I did a decent job of doing that.**


	16. Chapter 16: Secrets Come Out

**Alrighty, other than the fact that this chapter has a lemon scene in it, I have nothing important to tell you. Oh, and the rest of their pasts will be revealed (well, the crap that I've been stalling to explain, I should say). Enjoy the chapter.**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**Chapter 16: Secrets Come Out**

Nearly an hour had passed since the Survivors had arrived at the safe room, deciding it be best to rest for a few hours. They had all since washed the blood off their skin and out of their hair for the most part. Their clothes were still stained with crimson splatters, but they had done their best to at least get rid of the excess stickiness. Within the two rooms of the building, each contained two couches and a recliner, and there was a small bathroom as well in the room with the vending machines. After they had all eaten a bit of the junk food and reloaded their guns, the only thing on their minds was to sleep.

Tommy, Kouji, and Kouichi stayed in the main room, Kouichi opting to sleep on the recliner, while Takuya and Zoe each took a couch in the next room over. A door could be used to separate the rooms, but it had been decided that it would stay open for safety purposes. Within a storage closet, there had been a few blankets, each one being distributed to the five of them while their damp clothes dried.

Wrapped up tightly in her blanket, Zoe tossed and turned on the couch she was sleeping on, reliving the nightmare she had gone through recently. It was still fresh in her mind as if it had happened only yesterday.

_Seven days ago_

_Zoe stared at her parents' bedroom, her face furrowed into a worried frown. It had been three days since they had been attacked, and they had begun acting strange not even twelve hours later. They hardly left their room, ignoring work and refusing to come out even to eat. Zoe had tried to find out whether or not they were feeling alright, but her parents insisted that they were fine. The blond knew better though, as her parents were growing more and more hostile each time she asked them. She had begun hearing strange noises within the room, most of it sounding like mumbled curses and hisses._

_Finally, she woke up on that third night, hearing a crashing noise coming from downstairs. Bolting out of her bed silently, she snuck into the hallway and slowly made her way to the staircase. Craning her neck and squinting through the darkness, she could see two figures slinking around in the living room, growling and knocking several things over. With her heart pounding, she quietly went to her parents' bedroom to alert them. However, she found the door to be locked and she was too afraid to knock, not wanting to alert the intruders. _

_"Shit," she mumbled to herself. "What should I do?" _

_After a moment of debating with herself, she went into her father's office and made her way to his gun cabinet. Swallowing with anxiety, she gingerly unlocked it with the key that he kept under a paperweight on his desk. Zoe then unlocked the cabinet and took out the first thing she saw; a pistol. She checked to see if it was loaded, then hurriedly jammed a few bullets into the chamber. Holding her breath, she slowly made her way back into the hallway, cautiously walking down the stairs once again. A loud crash was heard from the living room, causing Zoe to almost scream in surprise. The intruders didn't seem to notice her approaching and they continued to destroy the room, growling and grunting as they did so. With her hand shaking, Zoe quickly flicked on the light switch the illuminate the room and pointed the gun at the two people. Yet the second the light shone onto them, Zoe's heart stopped momentarily._

_"M-Mom? D-Dad?" she stammered, her emerald eyes wide with horror._

_The two 'intruders' were, in fact, her parents, though they looked like something out of a horror film. Their skin had turned a sickly color that made them look as though they were walking corpses. Their clothes and faces were splattered with what looked like blood, though Zoe had no idea where it had come from. Her parents' eyes seemed to be glowing unnaturally, giving them an eerie appearance. _

_Zoe felt as though she were going to faint, then noticed bite marks on their skin, undoubtedly a result from their attack. The marks looked to be infected, as they oozed slightly with yellow pus. _

_"W-What happened to you guys?" Zoe asked, her voice barely audible._

_Yet instead of answering, they hissed at her, slowly ambling towards their daughter a second later. The blond backed up cautiously, her hands trembling so much that she couldn't aim the gun straight. She somehow managed to click off the safety, though her skin had paled drastically. Her father bared his teeth, revealing them to be yellowing and stained with red streaks. Her mother's was the same, and her nails were covered in blood as well._

_"D-Don't come any closer," Zoe warned, though her voice cracked as the words left her mouth. "I-I'll shoot you."_

_Her parents did not falter and kept approaching her ominously, a look of bloodthirst in their eyes. Mr. Orimoto let out a guttural growl, as if he were some type of animal. He then clumsily stumbled forward at his daughter, trying to swipe at her with his hands. Zoe jumped back with a scream, just barely missing the attack._

_"Stop it!" she cried out, tears beginning to run down her face. _

_However, Mr. Orimoto lunged at her a second time, his teeth ready to sink into her flesh. At that same moment, Zoe squeezed the trigger in a panic. A bullet hole appeared his cheek, leaking a bit of blood. Yet the wound did not seem to stop him completely, and he continued to make his way over to her. Making a heart-breaking decision, Zoe pulled the trigger two more times, hitting her father through his right eye and open mouth. Mrs. Orimoto lunged forward as well, only to be shot by the three remaining bullets in the chamber. She and her husband collapsed onto the floor, a pool of blood soon surrounding each of them._

_Zoe dropped the gun, looking at their corpses in horror. It clattered to the floor, the sound echoing through Zoe's ears in the silent house. Falling to her knees, the blond stared at her parents, not believing what she had just done. The tears flowed down her face faster, and she threw herself over their dead bodies, letting out a cry of anguish._

"Zoe? Are you okay? Zoe?"

The sound of someone's voice snapped Zoe awake, and she immediately sat up on the couch, panting heavily. Takuya was beside her, his face filled with confusion as he gazed at her. Zoe had broken out in a cold sweat during the nightmare, and her panicked breathing made the brunette worried.

"What's the matter?" he asked her. "Have a nightmare or something?"

"Yeah," she finally replied, letting out a humorless chuckle. "If you wanna call it that..."

Takuya raised an eyebrow. "Something more than just a nightmare?"

"I don't really wanna talk about it," Zoe told him, refusing to make eye contact with him.

"Alright." The soldier stared at her for several seconds, debating with himself. "If you change your mind, I'll be right over there."

Just as he was about to go back to his couch, Zoe suddenly grabbed hold of his arm. "Wait..."

Takuya sat down so that he was facing her, hoping that she'd finally open up to him. Although he was only in a pair of boxers, he didn't seem to notice. Zoe herself was wearing only a red laced bra and matching panties, though she was covered in her blanket.

The blond looked down at the floor for a moment before she finally spoke. "Have you ever done something that you regretted?"

"Depends. What do you mean?" Takuya asked. "Did you do something that you shouldn't have?"

"I don't know...it was probably the right decision at first...and the only option at the time. But I've regretted it ever since..." Zoe's voice trailed off and Takuya could see her eyes clouding with tears.

"Instead of beating around the bush, why don't you just tell me? I'm not going to make you feel bad about it. If whatever you did was the only choice at the time, then there's really nothing you could've done about it." He shifted slightly in his seat. "Now tell me; what did you do?"

Zoe sighed, keeping her gaze at the floor. "About ten days ago, my parents went out to dinner and came home several hours later. Since my apartment had flooded, I was staying with them temporarily until the damages had been fixed. But anyway, when they finally got home, they told me that they had been attacked. Their clothes were torn and dirty, and they each had a few bite marks on their skin..."

Takuya flinched, knowing where her story was going. "They became infected..."

She nodded solemnly. "Yeah... For the next three days, my parents stayed in their bedroom and refused to come out, even to eat. They kept their door locked, so I was unable to go in and check on them. Each time I called to them to see how they were feeling, they grew angrier as the hours passed. Finally, on that third night, I woke up and heard someone in the living room, destroying things. So I went to my father's office and went though his gun cabinet..."

"And then what happened?" Takuya asked quietly, not wanting to wake the others in the next room over.

"I went downstairs and turned on the lights, only to find out that the room was being wrecked by my parents. By then they had been completely infected with the pandemic and they didn't even recognize me. They must've left the house at some point because they were both smeared with blood," the blond told him, her voice beginning to crack. "They tried to attack me and I did the only thing that I could to stop them."

"You killed them?" He inquired, already knowing the answer.

Zoe buried her face in her hands, letting out a sob. "It was the only thing I could do at the time. It tore me apart to do it, but I had to."

"You did the right thing, Zoe." Takuya pulled her into his arms, allowing her to cry into his chest. "They might've looked like your parents...but they weren't anymore. I would've done the same thing in your position."

"I still don't feel any better about it, though," she replied miserably. "I should've just run out of the house and left them. There was probably another way to-"

"You did what you had to," he interrupted her. "I know that it hurt you to do it, but you would've been killed or infected if you hadn't."

Zoe didn't reply, but continued to cry softly. Takuya began to gently stroke her silky locks, all of the blood having been washed away. He felt a cold metal against his skin suddenly, causing him to jump slightly. However, when Zoe moved away, he saw that it was a necklace around her neck.

"What's that?" he asked her.

"A locket that my parents gave me for my sixteenth birthday," she said with a sigh.

Takuya gazed at her for a moment. "You really miss them, huh?"

"Yeah, but there's really nothing I can do about it. There gone and I'll just have to deal with it. I'm sure you miss your family as well." Zoe gave him a brief smile. "Hopefully you'll get to see them again soon."

"I don't know if I will," he told her in a grave voice. "There's a good chance that we won't make it out of here alive. I mean, eventually we'll run out of ammo, bombs, any type of protection. The number of infected humans keeps growing, no matter how many of them we shoot. It's very likely that we'll be overcome soon enough. They might try to infect us if they don't kill us."

Zoe smirked. "I'd rather put a bullet in my head than let that happen. After seeing what it did to my parents, if I have only one bullet left before we get mobbed, it's going right through my temple."

"Can't say I'd disagree with you on that point." The soldier turned a bit red as he finally realized that he was only in his boxers. "Ah, shit..."

Just as he was about to jump up to grab his blanket, Zoe gently grabbed hold of his arm. "Stay with me..."

Takuya gazed into her eyes, feeling his face heat up. She had turned a light shade of pink, slightly embarrassed by what she had just requested. The brunette couldn't stop himself as he leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers. Zoe's eyes widened slightly, but then they closed as their kiss deepened, growing more passionate. She gently nibbled on his lower lip for a moment, then felt his tongue invade her mouth. The blond allowed him to do so, vaguely aware of him pushing her down.

Takuya laid her down, gently pulling the blanket away from her body. However, he suddenly pulled away and got off the couch, his face heating up. He then went to the door that separated the two rooms and quietly closed it.

"I know that we agreed to keep it open, but I'd rather that they didn't walk in," Takuya said as he made his way back over to her.

Upon his return to the couch, Zoe reached up and pulled him down on top of her again, kissing his lips sensually. Takuya tugged down one of her bra straps, then lightly bit down on her exposed shoulder. Zoe moaned softly, running her hands up and down his muscular torso. They stopped at his waist, where her fingers began to play with the waistband of his boxers. She could feel his hardness poking at her, throbbing with excitment. Zoe felt him reach underneath her, unclipping her lacy red bra. Takuya then discarded it off to the side, revealing her ample breasts. He cupped them into his hands, gently kneading the twin peaks in his fingers. His thumbs ran over her hardening nipples, causing the blond to shudder slightly.

Zoe tugged his boxers down past his ass, but could reach no further due to the position. Yet seconds later, he had pulled them off the rest of the way, and tugged her panties down as well.

Climbing on top of her, his stiff tip rubbed at her wet core, causing friction between the two. Zoe gripped onto his broad shoulders, biting down into one of them. Takuya gradually slid into her, concentrating on trying not to hurt her. However, Zoe wrapped her legs around his waist, inviting him to go deeper and faster. The soldier leaned down and kissed her again, silencing a moan that had begun to escape. Takuya worked his hips back and forth, thrusting in and out of the girl.

"Oh, god..." Zoe's breathing sped up a bit, feeling as he hit the right spots perfectly.

Takuya's momentums grew faster, his manhood being deliciously engulfed by her tight walls. Soon his tanned skin was glistening, rubbing up against hers as their body temperatures rose. They kept up the pace for several more minutes, not wanting the moment to end. Zoe wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling him as her walls began to clench around him.

The brunette grunted, feeling himself growing closer to his climax. Seconds later her felt himself release his seed deep inside her, letting his fluids mix with her juices. Zoe gasped softly as Takuya emptied himself, feeling the gush of his warm liquid. Finally, the soldier collapsed on top of her, panting. He stared down at Zoe, brushing a damp strand of hair off her forehead. The blond smiled up at him, tired from the ordeal. She kissed him passionately, not wanting his body to leave hers.

"Well, you want to hear some good news?" Takuya asked her after a moment.

"Sure, what is it?" she inquired.

He smirked. "If our zombie friends try to eat us, at least we know that we don't die as virgins."

"But...I wasn't a virgin," Zoe told him, raising an eyebrow.

"Me neither, but now we have a sense of insurance so that we _definitely _won't die as virgins," Takuya replied cheekily.

The blond chuckled softly as she shook her head in disbelievement. "Idiot..."

In the next room over, the others had slept right through Takuya and Zoe's little session, undisturbed. Tommy was lying facedown on his designated couch, having a dream of his own. Like Zoe's, it was more than just a mere dream, however.

_Two days ago_

_The entire building was virtually deserted, not a single soul to be seen. Tommy cautiously made his way to the elevator, debating on whether or not he should just leave. Nearly everyone had called out sick for the past few days, leaving only Tommy and a handful of employees during those times. Yet it seemed that now Tommy was completely alone on this particular day, as he hadn't seen a single car in the parking garage. He had resisted the temptation of calling out sick as well, though Eric had threatened to fire him if he pulled such a stunt. Eric himself had been looking worse and worse with each passing day, his complexion sickly and his hair looking stringy. _

_The nineteen year-old finally approached the elevator, pushing the button to get him to his designated floor. The 'ding' seemed to be louder than normal, especially with the absence of human life within the building. Tommy quickly entered the elevator, feeling a bit paranoid as he waited for the doors to close. It then began to slowly ascend to the third floor, a low humming sound being heard as it made its way up._

_"I really don't wanna be here," Tommy murmured to himself as he gently tugged at his tie to loosen it slightly. "I don't wanna deal with Jackass today..."_

_He finally arrived at his desired floor, briskly walking towards the conference room where Eric had told him to report to. Tommy clutched at his briefcase tightly, letting out a dreaded sigh. He had been ordered to go over several packets of paperwork the night before, though he had only managed to read through half of it before falling asleep._

_"Whatever," he muttered to himself. "If he bitches, I'll smack him over the head with my fucking briefcase..."_

_After a few seconds, he finally got to the conference room, where his boss was aleady waiting for him. However, Eric had his back turned to Tommy, so the brunette was unable to see how he looked from his 'sickness'._

_"I...uh...read through most of those packets, sir." Tommy nervously opened his briefcase, worried about his boss bitching him out. "There were only a few that I didn't have time to get to, though. I only got a few hours of sleep last night even after I reviewed them, so if you're mad at me, then I'm sorry."_

_Eric did not respond, but seemed to be staring out the window vacantly. His hair looked even worse than it had previously, it now looking like a tangled mess. From what Tommy could see, he was still a sickly color, and his suit appeared to be the same one he had worn yesterday, as it was rumpled with wrinkles and a coffee stain._

_"Sir?" Tommy paused to stare at the man for several seconds. "Are you okay?"_

_After what seemed like an eternity, Eric finally turned around in a sluggish manner. His eyes seemed to be filled with madness, and his bared teeth were yellowed with grime._

_"Oh, god..." Tommy looked at him, appalled and anxious. "What the fuck happened to you?"_

_Eric suddenly began to amble over to him, letting out a hiss. Tommy immediately ran away from him, going around the large table in the room. His boss continued to pursue him, circling the table in order to get to the younger man._

_"What the hell, Eric? What's gotten into you?" Tommy asked, his voice laced with fear. "If you're not feeling well, I can bring you to the hospital."_

_Yet the sickly man continued to pursue him, his eyes dark with malice. He then surprised Tommy by jumping on top of the table and walking across to get to his employee._

_"Oh, shit..." Tommy sprinted back around the table to grab his briefcase, swinging it just as Eric leapt at him._

_The blow sent Eric flying off the table and crashing into a wall. Although slightly disoriented, he seemed relatively uninjured from the hit. Tommy frantically looked around to find something that he could use as a weapon. He then spotted a heavy paperweight on the table, praying that it would do some damage._

_Eric slowly rose back up, looking as though he would rip the younger man to shreds. With shaking hands, Tommy gripped the metallic object, noticing that it weighed at least five to seven pounds._

_"Sir, I don't want to have to use this," he said shakily, realizing how ridiculous he sounded by threatening his boss with a paperweight. _

_Eric hissed at him, then stumbled over as he slashed his nails at the brunette. Tommy ducked away, then slammed the weight down on top of his boss's head. With a splatter of blood, the man collapsed onto the floor, convulsing slightly. However, to Tommy's horror, he was beginning to rise back to his feet, growling as he did so. Making a grueling decision, Tommy rammed the weight down a second time on top of Eric's head. Once his boss had fallen back to the floor, Tommy slammed the weight onto him over and over again, spraying his suit in a crimson shower. _

_Seconds later, he dropped the weight, letting it fall into a puddle of blood. For several moments, he stared at his boss's unmoving body, the head partially caved in. Tommy swallowed back a bit of bile that had risen to the back of his throat, repulsed by the scene. Yet as disgusted and freaked out as he was, he couldn't help but feel a tiny twinge of satisfaction. _

With a groggy groan, Tommy slowly opened his eyes. A tiny smile flickered across his face and as he rolled over to go back to sleep, he only had one thought in mind. _That bastard deserved it..._

Meanwhile, Kouji was having his own odd dream, though it wasn't exactly a flashback of any sort.

_"What the hell?"_

_Kouji slowly wandered down a hallway, then went through a doorway in the complete darkness. A moment later, he was roughly grabbed by someone and dragged over to an unseen area._

_"Hey! What the fuck!" he shouted, trying to break free. _

_However, he was immediately pushed down onto a chair and the lights were suddenly turned back on. Shielding his face from the bright lights, he could hear cheering and clapping all around him. Once he had grown used to the brightness, he moved his hand away, surprised at what he saw. Kouji was on some type of stage, and an audience of the infected were seated in several rows of chairs. Upon further inspection, the raven-haired man realized that he was on some type of game show._

_"What the fuck is going on?" he demanded._

_A moment later, a Smoker wandered over to him, wearing a brightly colored suit. The Smoker seemed to be hosting the event, and he approached Kouji with excitement._

_"Okay, Kouji. You are the next contestant on our dating show! Would you like to begin?" he inquired._

_"What?" Kouji gaped at him, too stupified to move._

_"Yup. You are on the dating show 'I Want to Date a Flesh Eater'! And here are your choices of our lovely ladies._

_The Smoker then lowered a curtain to reveal three more chairs that were inhabited by other people. Kouji continued to gape at the three women, his eyes bulging out of his head._

_"Our first beautiful lady is none other than a Witch! She hates loudness and company, usually preferring to be alone. But she wears only a few articles of clothing, making her quite a catch!" the Smoker said._

_"I don't believe this," Kouji mumbled._

_The Smoker moved to the next pick. "Our next gorgeous lady is a Spitter. I wouldn't advise kissing her, as her acid will burn away your tongue, mouth, or anything else for that matter. But she is a sucker for jewelry, so you can get on her good side by giving her a ring!"_

_Kouji's left eye twitched, watching as a bit of acid leaked from the Spitter's eroded mouth._

_"And our last lovely contestant is a female Boomer!" the Smoker told him. "She is very bloated, has oozing sores all over her body, and disgusting bile that she may want to spray you with. But she will be smitten with you if you buy her some new clothes to cover her huge rolls of fat. I'd say that's one the easiest ways to win over a woman!"_

_"You're fucking kidding me..." Kouji grumbled, smacking his forehead._

_"So who will the lucky woman be? The Witch? The Spitter? Or the female Boomer? You have thirty seconds on the clock to pick your woman!" The Smoker dramatically pointed to a clock. "Thirty seconds!"_

Kouji suddenly bolted awake, his eyes still wide with confusion. He glanced over at Kouichi and Tommy's sleeping forms, before finally lying back down on his couch. Shaking his head in disbelievement, he grumbled one last sentence before letting sleep overtake him again.

"What the fuck are those pills doing to me?"

**And that is the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoyed its lemony goodness and Kouji's crazy dream. I couldn't resist putting something stupid just for the hell of it. And by that I mean Kouji's dream, not the lemon. *eye twitches* Although I think that the lemon scene I wrote was mediocre. I didn't want to do TOO much detail, but I also wasn't too into writing it. I dunno, I usually need to be in a certain mood to write decent lemons, so I don't think that this one was great by any means. Anyway, please review and the next chapter will be out whenever I get the chance. Only two chapters left!**

**Also, if there is anything that you think I forgot to reveal, just ask me and I'll tell you the answers. Sorry, but it's been awhile since I've worked on this story and I'm sure that I forgot to explain one or two things along the way.**


	17. Chapter 17: The Boathouse Finale

**Okay, this is the second to last chapter of the story. Who will live? Who will die? Well, find out by the end of the chapter and please review to let me know how you liked it (if you did).**

**Dark Sanctuary**

_**Campaign 2: Death Toll- Part 5**_

**Chapter 17: The Boathouse Finale**

After a few hours of rest, the Survivors reluctantly gathered up their supplies to head back out once again. Takuya and Zoe exchanged a few flirtatious glances about their secretive rendevous, though no one else seemed to notice. Once everyone had put their clothes back on and ate a quick snack, Takuya cautiously unlocked the door to the safe room. Since it was the only exit in the building, they had no choice but to leave the same way that they had come in through.

"Alright, I'll pull the door open, so you guys need to cover me in case any of the infected are waiting for us outside," Takuya told the others.

He grabbed hold of the handle and yanked it as fast as he could to get out of the line of the gunfire. However, as soon as the door was open, the outside of the building was completely clear.

"Oh, that's convenient," Kouji remarked. "So on that note, let's get our asses moving before we're ambushed."

With that, the five of them took off running down the street, the sky still dark with the night life. Ever since the pandemic had taken such a grisly toll on humanity, the days seemed shorter as the nights grew longer.

"I feel like we're never going to see the sun again," Zoe said with a sigh. "It was dark when I met you guys, and it's still pitch black out..."

"If you really think about it, we've only been together for less than eight hours," Tommy speculated. "We've just been moving around so much that it seems to have dragged. Hell, even the helicoptor ride only lasted twenty minutes."

Takuya snorted. "Still feels ridiculously long..."

"Yeah, but dawn should be approaching soon," the younger brunette told him. "Hopefully by then we should either find a safe room or a mode of transportation to get us the hell out of here."

"We're never getting out of here," Kouji grumbled. "I'm not optimistic about it..."

Although no one replied, they were all feeling the same at that point. Escaping seemed useless no matter how hard they tried.

They soon came up to a house with a burning barrel in the front yard, and Takuya gestured the house with his rifle. "Come on, let's check to see if there are any supplies in there. We still need as many bullets as we can get."

He led everyone inside, but saw a few of the infected ambling down the street from the corner of his eye. The others noticed as well and muttered curses. Hurrying through the rooms, they quickly gathered up a bit of ammunition and two first aid kits. Seconds later, a half dozen of infected people stumbled into the house, only to be immediately gunned down.

"Gee, that didn't last long," Kouji mumbled dryly. "They just can't resist pissing us off. I hate zombies..."

"It would probably be best if we left through the back door if there is one," Takuya remarked. "Since those bastards came in through the front, there might be more waiting for us there."

Everyone walked into the kitchen, discovering there to be a back door awaiting them. They dashed outside into the backyard, which was surrounded by a gated wooden fence. Yet before they could get very far, several infected humans ambled in through the open gate.

"Ah, goddammit." Takuya fired a few rounds at them, most of them hitting his targets in the head. "Knew that there'd be a catch."

"Eh, either way we were probably screwed," Zoe told him as she shot at the group with her machine gun.

The swarm continued to grow, and a Boomer waddled in to join them as well. Kouji groaned and fired at the Boomer to keep it from shooting its green bile everywhere, succeeding in doing so. Kouichi had found a pipe in the yard and was using it to impale many of the infected. He shoved it through eye sockets and pierced their brains, only to yank it back out and repeat the cycle as many times as he could.

A few minutes later, the horde had been wiped out, leaving behind only mutilated corpses filled with bullets. Blood had splattered in every direction, staining the grass crimson.

"Alright, let's keep moving," Takuya said. "I don't want to stick around and wait for the next fucking horde."

While Kouichi wiped the bloodied pipe on the jacket of a dead infected man, the other four hastily reloaded their guns. They then hurried out of the yard through the gate, making their way down the road as fast as possible. After about a minute, the Survivors saw a small building with three cars parked outside of it. They searched the tiny building and were fortunate enough to find more ammunition, two pipe bombs, and a molotiv cocktail. Not wanting to stay in the area for very long, they took off once again, soon coming up to a wooded area. A sign off to the side read 'Riverside Park'. In the distance, they could see a boathouse, as well as the first rays of light of the approaching dawn.

"A boathouse," Takuya said, his chocolate-colored eyes wide. "Maybe we'll be lucky enough to find a boat."

"God, I hope so." Tommy gazed at the boathouse wistfully. "But if we do find a boat, we better pray that it has gas."

Zoe smirked. "Only one way to find out."

The five of them took off sprinting, now feeling a glimmer of hope in their escape. However, as they ran, they could hear the sounds of the infected approaching them, coming dangerously close.

"Oh, fuck." Takuya groaned in irritation. "We've got company...again..."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when a horde of the infected ambled out of the shadows. They attempted to slash and bite at the Survivors, the number of them almost overwhelming. Bullets flew in every direction, many of them hitting their intended targets. However, since there were so many of them, Takuya and the others found it harder to keep them at bay.

"Dammit! There's too many of them!" he exclaimed, hitting a man in the face with the butt of his gun. "We gotta get out of here!"

"How?" Kouji shot a woman through her eye, watching at the bullet flew out the back of her head. "We're fucking surrounded."

Takuya frantically looked around. "Follow that path right there! It should lead us out of the woods! Only shoot if they get too close!"

With that, he shot one last man and took off down the trail, leading the others out of the woods. Every few seconds he would turn around to shoot an infected person who had grown too close to them. About a minute later, they finally emerged from the wooded area, having outrun most of their pursuers.

"I see a house over there," Tommy said breathlessly. "Should we go inside?"

"It's our best bet," Takuya replied as he reloaded. "We might be able to find some supplies inside anyway."

He and the others took off towards the house, aware that they would soon be joined with yet another group of the infected. They ran inside and quickly scanned the rooms for ammuntion and other useful items. Once they had found a bit of ammo, a first-aid kit, and a molotive cocktail, the sounds of pounding were heard outside the front door.

"Well, they decided to pay us another visit," Zoe muttered dully.

"Maybe we should go upstairs and fend them off from there," Kouji suggested. "That way we'll have more distance between them and us by the time we shoot them."

"Then we better get our asses up there now." Takuya began to make his way to the stairs. "Especially since they're starting to break in through the windows."

Mumbling more curses, the five of them headed up the stairs as they anticipated the oncoming horde. Upon reaching the next floor, everyone stood ready to attack and shoot. With an audible crash, they knew that the infected had finally broken in. Just as the first few of them reached the landing, relentless gunfire rang through everyone's ears. Kouichi, who was still holding the pipe, suddenly threw it as hard as he could. The pipe completely ripped its way right through one infected man's head, then impaled itself in a woman's forehead. Both fell down the stairs, dead from their wounds. Takuya and the other four continued to shoot at the swarm, aware of the great number they were faced with.

"Dammit," the soldier muttered, hurriedly reloading.

"Oh, maybe this will help." Zoe pulled a molotiv cocktail off Takuya's belt and threw it at the approaching horde. "Move!"

She and the others jumped back just as the explosive detonated, killing most of the infected in that one blast. Only a few of them remained, and they were quicky finished off in about a dozen shots.

"There's a balcony that leads to a deck out here," Tommy noticed, gesturing out one of the large windows.

"Good, we can get outside that way in case there are more of those bastards coming in through the front door," Takuya said. "Let's go."

The Survivors went out onto the deck, then hurried down the adjacent stairs. There didn't seem to be any more of the infected outside the house for the time being, yet the five of them saw a hulking figure on the roof.

"What the fuck is that?" Kouji squinted to get a better look.

"Dammit, it's a Tank!" Takuya began to shoot at him furiously, accompanied by the others in doing so. "I wanna kill that fucker before he jumps down and knocks us around."

Blood sprayed in every direction as the Tank was bombarded with an endless stream of bullets. He attempted to jump down onto the ground, but a final blast to the temple caused him to fall instead. With a heavy thud, he landed on the front lawn, soon surrounded by a pool of blood.

"Guys, there's a dock over there!" Zoe exclaimed. "And I'm not completely sure, but I think I see a boat approaching from the distance!"

"Shit, let's go! This might be our only chance to get away from here!" Takuya led the others towards the dock, that glimmer of hoping increasing slightly. "We have to alert the driver of the boat!"

"Hey! Get us out of here!" Kouji shouted as they ran. "Now!"

Zoe sweatdropped, then fired a few rounds upwards towards the sky. "They probably won't hear if we shout, so we should alert them by shooting a few bullets."

"Yeah, but we gotta make sure we don't use up all of our ammunition," Takuya told her.

"True, but if we don't alert the boat, then we're screwed," the blond retorted.

He thought for a moment, then fired his sniper rifle twice. "Hey! Can you hear us?"

After a moment, a light flickered in the boat, indicating that the driver had heard them. The boat was steered closer to the dock, though it still had a bit of a way to go before it reached them.

"We're almost there," Tommy said with excitement in his voice. "We're gonna get out of here."

Even Kouichi seemed to be displaying a bit of relief, though his eyes abruptly darkened with suspicion. Kouji caught his twin's ominious expression and frowned in worry.

"Something wrong, Kouichi?" he asked.

Just then, yet another horde seemed to come out of nowhere, surrounding them completely. Amongst the swarm was a Hunter, though this particular one was larger than the others. Everyone's hearts sank a bit, but they began to fire at the horde nonetheless.

The Hunter quickly climbed up a tree, avoiding the gunfire that took down the other infected humans. He then pounced back down with a thud and slammed right into Tommy. Tommy cursed, sprawled on the ground from the blow. He attempted to shoot at the Hunter, only for him to dodge every single bullet. While the others frantically shot at the rest of the horde, Kouichi distracted the Hunter long enough to allow Tommy to get away from him. He leapt onto the Hunter's shoulders, trying to slash at his neck. However, Kouichi's ankle was grabbed and a moment later, he had been swung full-force into a tree. The tree snapped in half, collapsing in top of him.

"Kouichi! You fucking bastard!" Kouji angrily fired his shotgun at the enemy Hunter, his face filled with fury.

The Hunter easily jumped out of the bullets' way, proving to be much faster than the other special infected of his type. While Kouji continued to shoot at him relentlessly, Takuya, Zoe, and Tommy were doing what they could to annihilate the swarm.

"Dammit," Zoe muttered as she reloaded her machine gun. "They keep coming..."

"Hey, come get the pretty flashing light, you stupid fucks!" Takuya hurled a pipe bomb off to the side, attracting many of the infected.

The bomb beeped and flashed its lights, causing the infected to huddle around it mindlessly. It detonated seconds later, sending fiery limbs to be dispersed in every direction. A Smoker suddenly wrapped its tongue around Takuya's neck, attempting to drag him away. The soldier managed to free his knife from his belt, though, and simply swiped it across the tongue to slice it in half. He heard a pained squeal and shot at the direction where he had heard the sound. Upon seeing a puff of black smoke emerging from behind a tree, he knew that he had hit his target.

Zoe feverishly fired at the oncoming infected humans, trying to stave them off as long as possible. The boat seemed to be miles away from her perspective, when in all reality, it was only minutes away from approaching the dock. Tommy tried to assist Kouji in the shooting of the Hunter, while Kouichi was trying to heave the tree off himself.

The Hunter growled and pounced, slashing Kouji right across the chest. His stitched-up wound was reopened, and blood began to course down his clothes, staining them further. Wincing in pain, he tried to shoot the Hunter in the head, but missed yet again as the special infected human jumped away. Then Hunter then attempted to lunge at him.

"Hey, leave him alone, you fucker!" Tommy exclaimed, firing his shotgun at the Hunter.

The bullet grazed the hooded man's shoulder, but did not do much damage. With a bloodthirsty snarl, he leapt over to Tommy and snatched his gun away, throwing it off to the side. He then crouched down and grabbed hold of his ankle, knocking the boy off balance. Before Tommy knew it, he had been swung directly into a thick tree. He felt the bone in his right leg snapping from the impact and let out an agonized scream. Smirking sadistically, the Hunter let the injured brunette writhe in pain while he made his way back over to Kouji.

"Tommy!" Zoe cried out, noticing their fallen friend. "Takuya, we gotta help him!"

"I know, but we're surrounded!" the soldier shouted above the gunfire. "Until we kill enough of these bastards, we're stuck here!"

The blond groaned in frustration. "Dammit! Tommy, hold on!"

Tommy nodded weakly, then painfully attempted to crawl over to his gun. "Ahh, fuck...this hurts..."

The Hunter grabbed Kouji around the throat, then lifted him up into the air. Kouichi finally managed to heave the tree off himself and lunged forward. He jumped onto the other Hunter's back and began to repeatedly slash at him, leaving bloody scratches. However, he was grabbed seconds later and slammed onto the ground, only to feel himself being kicked in the face. Blood squirted everywhere and he was rammed into yet another tree from the sheer force of the blow. That tree did not collapse, but it had cracked nonetheless.

"Come on..."

Tommy reached his shotgun just as one of the infected ambled at him, having only a split-second to shoot the man's face off. Sitting with his back against a tree, he fired as many rounds as he could, feeling that his chances of making it to the boat alive were slim to none. He let out pained grunts, feeling the broken bone almost poking through his skin.

"Shit, we really gotta help Kouji and Tommy, and soon," Takuya growled angrily as he and Zoe continued to shoot at the endless horde. "I wish that boat would hurry the fuck up and maybe someone on it could help us!"

"It'll be at least another few minutes before they even get to the dock," Zoe replied miserably.

The brunette slammed the butt of his rifle into several of the infected, as they had grown too close for him to get a safe shot. Zoe had resorted to the same method, her emerald eyes wide in terror. She felt a scraggily fingernail drag across her cheek and let out a surprised cry, only to smack the infected woman who had done it.

"Takuya, I don't know if we'll be able to hold them off for much longer!" she shouted above the hissing and growling.

Meanwhile, the Hunter still had his grip locked on Kouji's throat, cutting off the raven-haired man's oxygen supply. His nails dug in, leaving trails of blood on his neck. Kouji tried to shoot him, but accidentally dropped his shotgun a moment later. He then felt himself being pinned up against a tree and saw the Hunter draw his fist back. The Hunter smirked at him sadistically, his eyeless sockets just barely visible under his hood. He got ready to pound his fist into Kouji's face, who had closed his eyes in dreaded anticipation.

"Kouji!"

Kouji's eyes snapped open just in time to see the Hunter being tackled by his brother. He was dropped to the ground, where he watched Kouichi struggle with the enemy Hunter. The two of them pounced and slashed at each other, sending ribbons of blood cascading over the grass. Tommy was still shooting at the infected who had stumbled over to him, barely keeping them at bay. Yet the horde that Takuya and Zoe had been dealing with seemed to be overcoming the duo. They had completely resorted to bashing the infected with their guns, as they no longer had any chance of shooting without being at risk of getting attacked.

Zoe was suddenly tackled to the ground, feeling a few of the infected pouncing on her. She screamed as their nails clawed at her mercilessly, trying her best to curl into a ball.

"Zoe!" Takuya yelled. "You fucking assholes!"

He frantically beat them away from her, all the while getting clawed at as well. Remembering that he had one last pipe bomb, he snatched if off his belt and threw it. Most of the infected ran after it, but one or two remained on top of the blond. Takuya quickly shot them in their heads, letting their brains splatter in every direction.

"Zoe! Are you okay?" he asked just as the pipe bomb detonated.

Zoe was trembling and Takuya could see her body covered in bloody slash marks. Cursing under his breath, the soldier heaved her up and helped her into a standing position.

"It's okay," he said softly as he kissed her forehead.

Luckily, the pipe bomb had killed most of the horde, though Kouichi was still struggling with the other Hunter. Kouji had run over to assist Tommy, all the while watching in horror as his twin fought with the Hunter. He took hold of Tommy's gun since he had dropped his own and fired at the hooded man. A single bullet hit the Hunter, though he seemed not to notice.

"Guys! We gotta get to the dock and wait for the boat!" Takuya yelled.

"I can't leave Kouichi!" Kouji shouted back.

However, Kouichi took the opportunity to slash the other Hunter across the face, then looked his brother dead in the eye. "Kouji, go!"

More of the infected were approaching from the distance, a horde that had been bigger than the last. Time was rapidly running out for the Survivors and by now the boat was only a minute or so away from the dock.

"Come on, Kouji! If we stay here, we'll be killed!" Takuya exclaimed.

"No!" Kouji shot at the Hunter again, only to miss. "Kouichi! Come with us!"

Kouichi pounced onto the Hunter again and attempted to rip his throat out. "Kouji, just go already! Now!"

Groaning in frustration, the long-haired twin fired the remaining bullets at the infected man, each one of them missing only by mere centimeters.

"I'll hold him off! Get on the fucking boat, you idiot!" Kouichi yelled to his brother. "NOW!"

Kouji nodded solemnly, feeling the tears running down his face as he grabbed hold of Tommy. He helped him hobble over to the dock, where Takuya was running over with Zoe. The boat pulled up to the dock and a man who looked to be about twenty-five gestured to them with his shotgun.

"Hurry! Get on!" he yelled, then threw a molotiv cocktail at the end of the dock.

Doing such a thing caused it to catch fire, which would not allow the approaching infected to pass. Takuya and Kouji heaved Tommy on board, seeing three more people on the boat as well. Once Zoe had climbed on, the two of them joined her.

"We gotta wait for my brother!" Kouji said firmly, then called over to his twin. "Kouichi!"

To his horror, the Hunter was holding Kouichi above his head, ready to snap his body in half. A moment later, Kouichi's arm swung out just as the infected man ruthelessly bent his body in the opposite direction that it should've gone. Kouichi's back had been broken in half, yet his last swipe had proved successful as he severed the Hunter's jugular vein. Blood spurted in every direction, spraying the horde that had gathered nearby. Dropping Kouichi's broken body to the ground, the Hunter crumped into a bloody heap, unmoving.

"Kouichi!" Kouji screamed, falling to his knees. "Kouichi!"

Wincing in pain, Tommy pulled Kouji into a hug and patted his back, trying to comfort him. The raven-haired man broke down, his body shaking with sobs as he cried for his lost brother. Takuya and Zoe tried to comfort him as well, though Zoe seemed to be in a slight daze.

"Oh, god..." Kouji buried his face in his hands. "We were so close...so fucking close! I didn't want to leave him... I shouldn't have!"

"I'm really sorry about your brother," the man driving the boat said to Kouji as he pulled away from the dock. "But by the looks of it, he died making sure that you got to safety. He would've rather you left than stayed there to die with him. And you would've most likely if you hadn't gotten onto the boat."

Kouji seemed not to hear him as he continued to weep, his tears falling onto the deck of the boat. Takuya glanced over and saw the vacant look on Zoe's face.

"Zoe? Are you okay?" he asked.

She had grown pale and suddenly toppled over onto her back. Takuya swore under his breath and crouched by her side, lifting her head up.

"What's wrong?" His eyes were wide with fear and he scanned over her body to see if she had any serious wounds.

Zoe slowly made eye contact with him, a terrified look on her face. "Takuya..."

"What's wrong? Did you get slashed somewhere? Did you-" At the same moment, the soldier's voice caught in his throat as he discovered what the problem was.

"Takuya...I've been bitten..."

**And that wraps up the seventeenth chapter. So Tommy broke a leg, Kouichi died, and Zoe was bitten. Only one chapter left to see how the story ends! Please review to let me know what you thought. I know, you guys are probably mad at me for killing Kouichi. But you should expect character deaths from me since I am evil. But I made him die for a good cause and he went out with a bang ^_^ The final chapter should be out by Friday night. Or at least, that's when I plan on having it finished by. **


	18. Chapter 18: Leaving the Past Behind

**Okay, here it is! The final chapter of the story that took me ages to complete...and it's only 18 fucking chapters! Jeez, I blame my writer's block for this one. But this is where everything ends and it's not the greatest way to end it in my opinion. But hey, gimme a break. I wanna finish the story already so it's good enough in my book ^_^**

**And for the record, I do now own Digimon or Left4Dead, and the title for this chapter sucks! **

**By the way, I made a mistake in the story. In chapter 3, Tommy told everyone that his boss/co-worker Eric was ripped to pieces by the infected. I'm not gonna lie...I completely forgot about that. In chapter 16, I made it so that Tommy was the one who killed Eric by beating him to death. So I will take full responsibility for that fuck-up. But I guess I can somewhat fix it by making Tommy purposely lie and say that Eric was killed by the infected, rather than himself. Let's just say that he was ashamed to admit what he had done and lied about it. Okay, I just wanted clear things up and let everyone know that I don't have a problem telling everyone how I screwed things up. Anyway, enough of my ranting, I hope you like this chapter.**

**Dark Sanctuary**

**Chapter 18: Leaving the Past Behind**

Kouji and Tommy both looked over at the blond in surprise, unsure if they had heard right.

"Wait...did you say that you were bitten?" Tommy asked, his eyes wide.

Zoe nodded weakly, feeling her skin growing cold. She began to shiver a bit, and Takuya quickly covered her with his jacket.

"This can't be happening..." he muttered in dismay.

The other four passengers on the boat, including the driver, surrounded the group. They exchanged worried glances, unsure of how to handle the situation. The driver was a man with dirty blond hair and brown eyes, his jaw darkened with a five o'clock shadow. He had on dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a blood-stained brown jacket. Clutched in his hands was a shotgun.

Accompanying him were another man and two women. The second man had spiky dyed black hair and was wearing silver contacts in his eyes to conceal their true color. He was wearing black bondage pants with several chains hanging down the legs, a long-sleeved black shirt with a silver skull on it, black wristbands, and a pair of boots with six buckles on each of them. He was holding onto a machine gun.

The first girl had shoulder-length brown hair, green eyes and was wearing tan pants, a light blue halter top, white sneakers, and a black jacket. Her weapons of choice were twin pistols, resembling the same ones that Zoe had used.

The final member of the new group was a young woman with waist-length black hair and pale blue eyes. She was wearing a white sleeveless turtleneck shirt, a short black skirt, and black ankle boots with a knife strapped to one of them. She was holding onto a hunting rifle.

"How long ago was she bitten?" the driver asked. "By the way, my name is Jirou. And sorry I couldn't get the boat to you a bit faster..."

"Only a few minutes before we got onto the boat," Takuya replied dully.

Everyone mumbled their names to each other, though their attention was focused on the bitten blond. Even Kouji had stopped crying long enough to stare at the bloody bite wound on her.

"What should we do?" he asked Takuya. "I mean...she's gonna turn into one of them..."

"I...I don't know." The brunette stared down at Zoe, feeling his stomach twisting into a knot.

Barely awake, Zoe let out a humorless laugh. "I know what to do."

The raven-haired girl, Kiyoko, gazed at her in worry. "You're not thinking what I'm thinking, are you?"

"She might not have a choice," Tetsuji, the guy wearing all black, responded. "I mean, I would suggest the same thing."

"What are you talking about?" Takuya angrily demanded.

Tommy sighed. "Takuya...I think you know."

"No! I don't know!" he snarled. "So why don't you fucking enlighten me?"

"She wants to be killed," Kouji told him, refraining from calling him an 'idiot'. "She already made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to become one of the infected."

Takuya shook his head vehemently. "Fuck that. I'm not going to kill Zoe. Besides, we're immune to this fucking pandemic."

"What else can we do?" Kouji rolled his eyes. "We might've been immune to the airborne disease, but none of us have ever been bitten before. I wouldn't doubt that we could become infected that way."

"I'm not going to kill Zoe," the soldier repeated. "And I'm not letting any of you do it either."

Zoe groaned, painfully sitting up. "I don't want to become one of them, Takuya. If you don't put me out of my misery, I'll only turn into one of those fuckers and attack you. Either way, you'll have to shoot me. So do it now before I turn."

"No."

"Dammit, Takuya! I know that you don't want us to do it," Kouji snapped. "I don't want to do it either. We went through this fucking apocalypse together and it sucks losing Zoe like this. But what choice do we have?"

Unbeknownst to them, Jirou was quietly talking to Mayu, the brown-haired girl. Mayu seemed to be nodding thoughtfully, though her face was furrowed into a frown.

"I don't know, Jirou...what if it doesn't work?" she asked.

"We won't know until we try it," he replied.

Hearing their conversation, Takuya directed his attention to them. "Try what?"

"Well...a little while ago, we came across a research center," Jirou explained. "Just before we escaped in this boat, we came went through the building in hopes of finding ammunition."

"Are you referring to what we found in that room with the Witch?" Tetsuji asked.

Mayu nodded. "Yeah, when we found that briefcase filled with those viles."

"Mayu, we don't exactly know what's in those." Kiyoko rubbed her tired eyes. "Sure, they're labeled, but how do we know that they'll truly work?"

"What the hell are guys talking about?" Takuya asked, annoyed that they weren't getting to the point.

Jirou zipped up his jacket, grateful that the boat had an 'auto-pilot' setting. "We might've found an antidote to the pandemic."

Zoe laid back down on the ground, a pained moan coming from her. "I doubt it...you probably found something else..."

"Use it on Zoe," Takuya suddenly demanded. "I'm not about to kill her, so inject her with it."

"Takuya, they don't know if it really is an antidote," Tommy pointed out.

Kouji wiped a few tears off his face. "And I'm pretty sure that Zoe doesn't want to be a fucking guinea pig in this."

"I don't care," the blond dully stated. "If it doesn't work or backfires, just fucking shoot me..."

"Jirou, are you sure about this?" Kiyoko asked. "I don't know if we should do this..."

The blond man sighed. "I'm not completely sure either. But if there's any chance of helping her, I'm willing to try it out. She even agreed to test it out. And if any of us are bitten in the future, we might have a chance."

"I don't know if she's exactly in her right mind," Tetsuji said dryly as he cocked an eyebrow. "But hey, if she's willing, then give it a fucking shot."

"I'll go get the briefcase." Mayu hurried inside the single cabin on the boat.

Takuya gathered Zoe into his arms, a somewhat vacant look on his face. "This will work...I know it will..."

Tommy and Kouji exchanged nervous glances, unsure of Takuya's sanity. However, they were willing to try anything if it meant that Zoe would be spared of the infection. Kiyoko grabbed a first-aid kit and began to wash Zoe's bite wound, wiping away the blood and saliva on her neck. She covered it with a gauze pad and taped it down just as Mayu returned with the briefcase.

"We have to do this right now if we hope to help Zoe," Jirou told everyone. "We don't know much about the serum, but I saw some papers saying that how much to give the victim. The only problem is that according to the research, it must be injected within thirty minutes of being infected. If it's any later, the chances of it working will quickly decrease and is at risk of losing all potency."

"Alright, let me get this ready..." Mayu opened the case to reveal twenty small viles and five syringes.

Kouji shuddered slightly as he saw the needle, not wanting to relive the time when Tommy had stitched him up. His reopened wound had since stopped bleeding for the most part, much to his relief. He did not want to be sewn up a second time.

Takuya pulled his jacket off of Zoe and removed hers as well, exposing her forearm. Filling the syringe with one full vile of serum, Mayu then brought it up to a vein in Zoe's arm. She injected the antidote, emptying the entire syringe into the blond. A moment later she extracted the needle and put a tiny guaze pad on Zoe's arm to cover up the tiny puncture.

"Well, now all we gotta do is hope that it works," Kiyoko said in a low voice as she tugged her skirt down a bit. "And pray that there are no weird side-effects."

"Whatever, I don't care about being a test subject at this fucking point in time," Zoe replied with a smirk. "If anything goes wrong, just put a bullet in my friggen head."

"Would you stop talking like that?" Takuya snapped.

Tommy grunted in pain as he tried to straighten the broken bone in his leg. "She's a bit delerious from the shock of the bite. Don't go too hard on her."

Jirou crouched down in front of Tommy. "What the hell happened to you, kid?"

"A Hunter broke my leg." The brunette hissed in pain. "The bone is almost poking through my fucking skin..."

"For now I can put your leg in a splint," Mayu told him. "But as soon as we get to our last destination, you'll be provided with better medical attention."

"And where the fuck are we going anyway?" Kouji asked, seeming to be in a daze. "East Who Gives A Fuck?"

Tetsuji chuckled. "Nah, we already went there. This fucking lake is going to lead us to another area where a plane is waiting for us. The pilot will bring us to another designated area."

"And who's the pilot? Some infected douchebag?" the bandana-wearing man asked. "Our last pilot turned into one of them mid-flight. Worse helicopter ride in my life..."

Mayu's eyes widened. "Oh my god, are you serious? What happened?"

"My brother threw him out of the helicopter before he could kill us." Kouji's voice cracked and he rose to his feet. "I'll be over there if you need me..."

With that, he made his way to the back of the yacht, remaining silent as they continued to glide over the water. Takuya was about to join him when he was stopped by Jirou.

"I think your friend needs to be alone right now," he said softly. "I lost my brother and sister, so I know what he's going through. Just give him some time alone."

Takuya sighed and nodded, then turned his attention back to Zoe. "How are you feeling?"

"No different." She had his jacket draped over herself once again. "But I don't expect to feel any different for a little while."

Kiyoko checked the ammunition in her rifle. "I'm not usually the optimistic type, but I think that the antidote will work. Either that or I can't stand the thought of being disappointed again."

"Well, now that we met up with you guys, things are looking a bit brighter," Mayu chimed in. "And there will be more survivors with that plane. We should be there within an hour."

"How many people are there?" Takuya asked, smirking slightly as Zoe rested her head on his lap.

"You're going to be my pillow so don't complain," she quipped, slowly closing her eyes. "I'm gonna take a nap. If I wake up as a zombie, toss me overboard if you feel too guilty about shooting me. I doubt that the infected are very good swimmers..."

Jirou thought for a moment. "I know that there are at least four of them...but there could be as many as ten."

"Where's the plane taking us?" Tommy winced as Mayu tried to straighten his leg to place it in the splint. "Aahh...dammit..."

"Sorry," Mayu mumbled apologetically. "I'm not a doctor or nurse by any means, but I can at least put this stupid splint on you."

Tetsuji played with one of the chains on his leg. "Hawaii."

"No, seriously. Where are we going?" Takuya asked as Zoe began to fall asleep.

"We actually are going to Hawaii," Jirou told him. "It's one of the few places that we heard of not having the pandemic. Almost every place on this damn planet has broken out with this virus. Europe, China, America, Russia, you name it. Hawaii has had no reports of the disease so far, so it's our best bet right now."

Takuya thought for a moment, then nodded briefly. "Yeah, we don't have many options anymore. The world has turned into a zombie apocalypse."

"They're not zombies," Kouji scoffed from the other end of the boat. "That's what you're always telling me."

"Yeah, I know," Takuya grumbled. "Be quiet..."

Kouji grabbed the railing as the boat was bumped over a wave. "Ugh, I hate boats..."

Tommy's leg had finally been fitted with the splint, which relieved the pressure from his broken bone. He absently swallowed the pills Jirou handed him, swallowing them dry. Although there were no drastic signs of improvement on Zoe's part, Takuya thought he could see her complexion gradually getting back to normal. The blond was still pale, but it seemed not to be as bad as before. From the corner of his eye, he could see Kouji's upper body draped over the railing. Whether it was from sea-sickness or the mourning of Kouichi, Takuya didn't know. Perhaps it was both.

Takuya felt a pang of loss over Kouichi as well, though it was nowhere near the extent of Kouji's. The soldier had been distrustful of the Hunter, going so far as threatening to shoot Kouichi if he acted out of line. Yet without him, there was a definite possibility that they never would've gotten as far as they did.

"He'll be okay," Kiyoko said softly after a moment. "Not for awhile...but someday."

"Yeah, someday..." Takuya gazed into the horizon. "Maybe someday this pandemic will be eliminated or under control. Maybe someday we'll all be infected as well. There's no telling what might happen 'someday'."

Jirou picked up the radio, signalling someone on the other end. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

After a bit of static, the sound of a man's voice was heard on the other line. "Hello? Jirou?"

"Hisashi? It's me. Is the coast still clear?" Jirou asked.

"Yep, no sign of any of those bastards. You almost there yet?"

"We should be there within an hour. I've got this stupid boat on 'auto-pilot', but it's still just as slow as doing it manually," Jirou replied.

Hisashi snorted. "A yacht on auto-pilot? What the fuck? Well, just get here as soon as you can, okay? Bye."

"Bye." The blond man moved away from the radio. "The others are waiting for us on the other side of the lake. So far they haven't seen any of the infected lurking around. But either way, we want to get there as soon as possible."

The minutes seemed to drag by as almost everyone remained silent. Kouji had since sank back down in his depression, his once vibrant eyes now a dull color. By the sickly palor of his complexion, he looked worse than Zoe. Tetsuji had gone over to him and offered him a beer, which Kouji took while mumbling a 'thanks'. Although they had slept earlier, Tommy had begun to doze off again, the effect of the pain pills putting him into an exhausted stupor.

The boat finally pulled up to the shore, where a plane could be seen in the distance. Takuya carried a sleeping Zoe off the yacht, while Jirou and Tetsuji assisted Tommy due to his broken leg. Kiyoko and Mayu gently chided Kouji into getting off the boat and walking towards the plane. The long-haired twin nodded solemnly, his face suggesting that he no longer cared whether or not he boarded the aircraft.

Waiting by the plane were seven more survivors, one of them looking as though he were a doctor due to his white coat. He immediately eyed Tommy's splint and seemed to be thinking about how he could fix the brunette's broken leg. After exchanging a few brief handshakes and introductions, everyone decided to get on the plane before any of the infected showed up. The man named Hisashi was in charge of flying the aircraft, though Jirou had taken the liberty of appointing himself as co-pilot should Hisashi grow tired. Tommy sat with Kouji and Takuya, who placed Zoe in his lap rather than sitting her down in her own seat.

As they flew away from the pandemic-ridden area, Tommy glanced at the Takuya. "What are you thinking? Do you believe that this is finally our way out?"

Takuya thought for a moment. "I want to believe that it is...but we won't be sure until we get there."

"Unless this plane fucking crashes and we all die," Kouji muttered. "I'm kind of hoping for a demise myself..."

"No, I have a feeling that we'll make it there just fine," the brunette stated. "And it's all thanks to Kouichi. You know that he did what he thought was right."

"Yeah, at the expense of his life," the raven-haired man shot back. "I feel really great about the fact that I lived while my brother died. Fuck, he died two times if you really think about it. I lost him the first time before he was infected and thought he was dead. And then he showed up out of the fucking blue as a damn Hunter, only to be killed."

Takuya stared at him for a moment, shifting Zoe in his arms. "Well think about this; would you have done the same for Kouichi?"

"What kind of question is that?" Kouji snapped. "Of course I would've."

"Would you have regretted your decision in doing so, even if you knew how upset it would make him?" he asked.

Realizing what Takuya was getting at, Kouji let out an anguished groan. "I would've given my life for him...no regrets..."

"And I'm sure that's how he felt," Tommy added. "Don't throw away his sacrifice by wishing you were dead. Keep moving for Kouichi's sake, okay?"

Tears clouded Kouji's eyes and he dropped his gaze to his lap, unable to look at his friends anymore. He knew that they were right, though it would still be a long and difficult recovery for him to get over his twin's death.

As the hours ticked by, Takuya felt a stirring in his arms. He half-expected to look down and see Zoe in a zombie-like infected state, despite his own rejections of such an idea. Yet to his relief, she looked healthy except for the slightly pale skin.

"Hey," she said, flashing him a smile. "Are we there yet?"

Takuya returned her smile and kissed her forehead. "Not yet. Too bad there's no in-flight movie to pass the time."

Half of the passengers on the plane had dozed off, including Tommy and Kouji. Fighting an apocalyptic battle against infected humans was no easy task, and it would take more than just a few naps for them to feel completely normal once again.

"I can think of something that's a bit better than a movie." Zoe leaned up and pressed her lips up against Takuya's.

Takuya kissed her back passionately, his fingers entwining with her silky locks. His tongue gently invaded her mouth, which Zoe welcomed happily. Their kiss grew longer and harder, both of their breathing becoming a bit more shallow as the seconds ticked by.

"Get a room," Tetsuji teased as he walked by. "Then again, you two can provide the entertainment for the lack of an in-flight movie..."

Finally pulling away, Takuya smirked at the blond. "Careful, you might give me the pandemic."

Zoe shrugged. "If I get infected, I'm taking you down with me."

"Fair enough," he replied nonchalantly.

"So...do you think we're getting out of this hell...or just beginning it?" she asked after a long pause.

"Like I said to Tommy, we won't know until we get there. But...I think that this is our ticket out of our fucking misery," the soldier said as he gazed out the window for a moment. "And if not, we'll keep fighting until we've run out of strength...or bullets for that matter."

Zoe stared out the window as well, her head resting against his shoulder. "I think that we're going to make it. You can finally contact your family and hopefully be reunited with them soon."

"Maybe...Tommy can try to contact his brother as well. I'm not sure about Kouji's parents." Takuya rested his cheek against her forehead. "You lost yours...but at least you still have us."

"Speaking of which, I want you to have something." Wincing from her bite wound, she carefully unclasped her necklace.

Takuya raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"I want to give this to you," she told him as if it were obvious. "Just in case something does happen to me, you'll have this to remind you of me. That way you can never forget how much I annoyed you...or vice versa."

"Y-You're not turning into one of those bastards, are you?" Takuya couldn't hide the panic in his voice.

Zoe shook her head. "Nah, I doubt that I will. But I'm just saying that if something does happen to me, I want you to have my necklace."

The brunette eyed the piece of jewelry, then stuffed it into one of his pockets. "I'll hang onto it. Well, unless a zombie tries to pick-pocket me, in which case he'll get his fucking head blown off."

"Good, I'll kick your ass if you lose it. Or try to eat your brain."

The plane continued to fly through the clouds, heading towards their desired destination. No one was sure how the outcome would be of their horrifying nightmare. Things didn't always turn out the way people anticipated them, after all. Yet with the bright sun shining at them in the distance, everyone was optimistic for their awaiting future.

**And that concludes the story that I started in February! That is now my new record for completing a goddamn fic, but hey, I finished it! I honestly think that the ending was stupid, corny, and flat-out horrible. But I couldn't think of how else to really end it. However, let's just say that things are looking good for the Survivors. And if all else fails, Kouji can hook up with a Witch to help him get over Kouichi's death.**

**Kouji: Hey! I don't wanna hook up with a Witch just to get my mind off Kouichi! What kind of brother would I be if I did that?**

**Witch: *wanders over* I'm gonna go cry like an emo in the corner of that building...wanna join? Or are you too bent up over your brother's demise?**

**Kouji: Brother? What brother? Count me in on the crying like an emo! *joins her***

**Now I can move on and continue working on "Deranged Crack Tales", my urban legend one-shot, "Tormented Soul", and another multi-chapter story that will be out within two weeks most likely.**


End file.
